


Spells, Potions, and a Wizard Boyfriend

by whispered_story



Series: Wizards AU [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, First Time, Fluff, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Magic, Roommates, Wizard Jared, Wizard Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:29:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4758170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whispered_story/pseuds/whispered_story
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite being a wizard, Jensen's life has been completely normal and magic-free – but all of that is about to change now that he's a student at the California College of Magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spells, Potions, and a Wizard Boyfriend

Jensen Ackles is a wizard.

You wouldn't know it looking at him, at his life, because up until this point everything about Jensen has been incredibly normal -- small magic-related incidents aside. He went to a normal high school with normal teenagers and normal classes, and graduated like his parents had insisted. 

"We want you to have a solid education Jensen, something you can fall back on," they'd said the day Jensen found out he could do magic when he was fourteen, and every day since. The fact that Jensen is a wizard had been a bit of a shock for everyone – he'd been fooling around with a wand he and his friends had found in the streets (and people in Jensen's little town are still equally parts puzzled and upset that a _wand_ of all things was found in their town, five years later), not expecting anything to happen. Except, Jensen had waved the wand around and something _had_ happened.

After that, everything had changed for Jensen, no matter how much his parents tried to pretend it hadn't.

Jensen is the first member of his family who possesses the gift of magic – well, the first everyone knew about because he must have gotten it from _somewhere_. In fact, he's the only wizard in their whole town, probably the surrounding towns too, and he never blamed his parents for not really knowing what to do with him. Magic was never part of their lives. So they didn't really know what to do with him when they discovered he was a wizard. But his parents have always wanted what was best for him and he appreciats that, even if they never really understood that Jensen's different, that it's _okay_ to be different, and that he doesn't want to live a normal life like his brother and sister. 

They made a deal with Jensen shortly after his magic abilities had been confirmed – Jensen would finish high school, be a normal kid, and not use any magic until he was eighteen and then he could give this whole being a wizard thing (as his parents called it) a try. 

And so Jensen had done just that – he'd played sports in his free time, had studied hard to get good grades, and resisted the urge to go to the occult store a few towns over and find out more about his gift. He'd graduated, as planned, and when his parents had begged him to take some time to find himself before rushing into something, to stay in Texas instead of moving away, Jensen had agreed reluctantly to that as well. Staying home actually worked out well. He'd worked part-time jobs for a year, saving a lot of money that he knew he'd need once he was away at college, on his own. 

Now, Jensen's nineteen, and no amount of cajoling and begging from his parents is changing his mind. He's ready to do what he wants to do.

He's going to the _California College of Magic_. He'll be taught and trained by wizards and witches and be among people like him.

He's worked for this day for years and as he steps into the great, majestic building of the university, he feels like his dream is finally coming true. 

For the first time in years, he feels like he belongs.

He should have know that feeling would be too good to be true.

+

Jared Padalecki is nineteen and freshly back in the US after spending a year traveling Europe with friends, meeting wizards and witches from all over the world and soaking up the roots of magic and getting to do all sorts of things Jensen probably never would. He comes from a family of wizards and witches, had gone to a high school for witches and wizards too – _of course_ – and knows more about magic than Jensen can ever dream of knowing. It's easy to him, natural, and when Jensen tells him he's new to the whole world of magic his whole face scrunches up in confusion, like he hadn't even thought people like Jensen existed.

In short, Jared is Jensen's complete opposite.

He's also, as off today, Jensen's roommate.

Jensen is proven disappointingly right about how very different they are over the course of the next few weeks.

While Jensen is quiet and studious, Jared is boisterous and social. While Jensen has a set of definite goals – his main one being not failing at being a wizard – Jared seems to be just coasting along, going to the _California College of Magic_ simply because his whole family had gone there. While magic is still confusing and the smallest spell takes hours of practicing for Jensen, Jared excels at everything he does with an ease that's unfair. 

Sometimes Jensen wonders if there's anything the professors at the college can still teach someone like Jared, who was brought up with this life and has probably practiced magic since before he even knew how to walk.

It's like teaching a person how to swim when they've lived their whole life by the sea.

It's unfair, and Jensen feels more and more frustrated every day, spending hours buried in books while Jared does sports and goes to parties and dates and hangs out with people. Jared makes everything look effortless – from using spells without even having to think about them, to making friends without even trying. Jensen can't even be mad at him, not really. It's not Jared's fault and they might not be becoming friends any time soon, but even Jensen can't deny that Jared is, overall, a pretty likable guy. 

He just has the uncanny ability to make Jensen feel like an absolute failure.

Nothing about his new life is effortless for Jensen. College is nothing like how he'd thought it would be. Yes, there's bad cafeteria food, weird professors, and a workload that makes most students want to crawl into their bed and cry, but Jensen thought it would be fun too. Turns out, college is no fun at all – not for Jensen at least.

He's struggling in his classes – something he'd never had a problem with back in Texas – he feels horribly different, completely out of place, and even after a few weeks, he hasn't made a single friend. It's all really rather depressing.

+

Three weeks into the semester, Jared comes into their shared room, wearing gym shorts and a shirt soaked with sweat, and catches Jensen trying out spells, waving a wand. _And_ laughs.

"They make you use a wand?" he asks, sounding both puzzled and horribly amused. "Aw, man, I stopped using a wand in, like, kindergarten."

"It helps," Jensen protests, because that's what his professor had said when she's passed them out. He also kind of wants to punch Jared. He knows it's not Jared's fault that he doesn't get it, doesn't get Jensen, but it makes him unspeakably angry that Jared could probably make the world explode in colors and sparkles with a snap of his fingers while Jensen can't even make a flower grow faster after hours of trying the stupid, simple spell out.

Jared just grins and shrugs. "Whatever, man," he says easily. "I'm going to meet some friends for a movie. Have fun playing with your wand."

He ignores Jensen's angry muttering, changes into a new shirt (he wears stupid shirts that Jensen can't even look at, because there's always some crude saying splashed over Jared's chest that makes Jensen flush hotly and feel like a tool) and jeans, and leaves.

It's probably the most they've talked to each other in days.

Jensen's actually glad that he rarely sees Jared because they're living such completely different lives. He thinks if he was faced with Jared's perfection all the time, he'd probably go crazy. And the one good thing about being a complete novice is that he doesn't have a single class with Jared either. He's stuck taking beginner classes – classes that Jared probably could have passed those with flying colors when he was four.

Jensen really kind of resents Jared and Jared's stupid, incredible abilities.

+

Jensen's favorite place on campus is the library. It's his refuge and he feels more at home there than in his own dorm room.

Those afternoons when he doesn't have classes or his too busy studying, Jensen hides out there. He reads whatever he can get his hands on and hopes that somehow soaking up knowledge will make him do better in class.

He's not allowed into the section where the books on spells and potions are – student IDs are checked almost religiously and the guy who showed Jensen around the library on his first visit told him, warningly, no fake ID ever went unnoticed. 

So Jensen sticks to the books on history, novels, and the few introductory books about spells and potions even he is allowed to read.

There is one section in the library, though, that's different and it's by far Jensen's favorite – the enchanted books. Jensen is surprised by how often he has that part of the library to himself. It seems most students really only use the library when they _need_ to look things up for class, and not for fun like Jensen. 

It's a bit puzzling how other people can completely ignore how incredible the enchanted books are, but Jensen could spend hours in that part of the library, does when he can.

The thing about enchanted books is that all you have to do is sit down and wait and sooner or later, one of the books from the shelves will choose you. Jensen isn't sure how it works, but so far every single book that's chosen him has been perfect for him. Each time he opens a new book, he feels a surge of excitement, wondering what it will be this time, and then promptly get lost in the story for hours at a time. 

A few times he'd tried picking a book from the shelves by himself – once, the book vanished again before Jensen could even open it because apparently, the book hadn't been very fond of Jensen, and yes, Jensen had felt a little bit insulted by that; and other times the books he chose randomly flipped open at a page, and Jensen willingly had let himself get absorbed in the writing.

Jensen's pretty sure he wouldn't have needed toys as a kid if he'd known about things like enchanted books, and he wonders what else is there, what else he's missed out on. Now that he's here he feels pity for everyone who'll never know what it's like, living with magic.

 _The Tale of the Wizard and the Dragon_ is Jensen's favorite of all the enchanted books so far. It's a huge, leather-bound book that has chosen Jensen several times already. When you open it, there are blank, yellowed pages and as you watch the writing unfolds in beautiful, cursive handwriting. It's a story about a young wizard fighting a dragon, but instead of slaying it he ends up befriending the dragon, saving his whole town, and winning over the girl he'd been secretly in love with since they were teenagers. It's a sweet story, probably for children, but Jensen never gets bored with it, no matter how often he reads it. There are drawings accompanying the story, renderings in bold, dark ink that come to life like a photo in front of Jensen's eyes. He's noticed that the book changes sometimes, that he reads the story and finds details that weren't there before, while others are missing, or slight twists in the plot. One time, the wizard is not in love with a witch but another wizard and Jensen's stomach clenches while reading that, wondering if he's somehow influencing this particular change. If the book somehow knows about him, and if the book knows, Jensen wonders if other people do too. If wizards and witches look at him and can tell that Jensen would rather have a boyfriend than a girlfriend. He can't decide if that would make his life easier or harder.

He makes a mental note to ask someone about how the book works one day – maybe the old, sweet lady who works at the information desk of the library and always smiles at Jensen when he comes in.

This, Jensen thinks, is what he thought college would be like. The vast knowledge, the beautiful, magical things he can get lost in, the way his heart beats a little faster whenever he's in the library, feeling happy and content and at home. 

But the feeling never stays with him, and most of the time Jensen is studying and rushing from class to class and watching his classmates thrive while Jensen struggles with even the simplest things.

+

One day in September, Jensen's academic career goes from bad to horrifyingly awful.

He' painstakingly following Professor Kripke's instructions, adding things together in a small glass vile and stirring the liquid, and Jensen actually thinks he's doing all right. 

The safety goggles are kind of uncomfortable and the white lab coat Jensen is wearing is a size too small, but considering some of his fellow students are already cursing and complaining Jensen is feeling pretty good about himself – all in all, it reminds him of the science classes he took in high school rather than what Jensen pictured _Magic Potions for Beginners_ to be like. Harry Potter made classes for wizards look a lot more charming, really, but for once Jensen is kind of glad it's not like that. It makes him feel less out of his element.

"If your potion has turned a pale green color, you did everything correctly," Kripke announces and walks from table to table slowly, nodding at students. "You can drink the potion now."

Jensen waits for Kripke to nod in approval when he sees Jensen's potion before drinking it, just to be sure, feeling proud of himself for the first time in weeks.

The reaction is almost instant. The potion settles in his stomach, making warmth spread, and Jensen starts to feel a bit dizzy. 

The potion is supposed to enhance their magic, nothing really earth-shattering, and Jensen waits to feel a surge of power or something ridiculous like that, but instead his heart suddenly pounds heavily in his chest, throat tight, and all he can think is that he needs _Jared_ to be there. Jared can help him. The thought is clear and insistent, like a single spot of light in darkness, and Jensen feels it with every fiber of his being.

Considering he doesn't like Jared, Jensen knows something is wrong instantly.

+

"I don't know what happened," Jensen says helplessly, and he feels like he's going to throw up.

Dean Morgan looks from him to Professor Kripke, whose eyes are darting around the room nervously while he wrings his hands together.

"I thought I told you last year not to make that potion again with students," Morgan says, and he sounds more resigned than upset.

Kripke laughs tensely. "Right. I must have forgotten."

Morgan sighs. "Make sure you don't forgot again next semester, Professor," he says sternly. "I'm sick of this happening."

"Of course."

Morgan sighs again, louder, and then rolls his eyes. "And if you do forget again, at least warn the students that they better be completely sure they're using a hair that's really _theirs_."

"I thought it _was_ mine," Jensen says, sounding a bit desperate. "I swear. I picked it off my sweatshirt. I don't know how it could have been Jared's."

"It's okay, Jensen," Dean Morgan assures him, and Jensen smiles weakly. Dean Morgan addressed him with 'Mr Ackles' for the first couple of minutes, before he realized how absolutely shaken and guilty Jensen felt and switched to his first name, offering Jensen smiles instead of stern looks. "You'll feel better once Jared gets here."

Jensen hangs his head and sincerely doubts Jared's presence is going to make him feel better, despite the fact that since he drank the potion he's been practically _aching_ for Jared to get here, a never-ending chant of _JaredJaredJared_ echoing in his head. His skin is tingling and itching and there's a dull pain in his head, making his eyes burn. Jensen wants nothing more than to curl up in a ball and die, he feels so miserable. And while Jared might be able to take the feeling of pain and unease away, Jensen highly doubts that will actually make him feel better. 

Jared will mock him endlessly for this, or maybe yell at him and tell him how completely incompetent Jensen is and that he shouldn't even be here. The sad thing is, he'd probably be right.

Jensen was a fool to ever think he was a wizard.

"How long will this last?" he asks, defeated, and sends up a silent prayer.

"A couple of days," Dean Morgan says, his expression sympathetic. "But don't worry, if you and Jared stay together until the spell wears off, it won't be so bad."

"Jared will love that," Jensen mutters and rubs his eyes. "How – how did the spell even work? I mean, why am I feeling this way?"

Professor Kripke clears his throat nervously. "Well, the potion allows you do tap into yourself, your magic. If you use your own essence, that is. Since you used someone else's hair – well, you're basically connected to them, tapping into them instead of yourself."

"So is it just one way or –" 

"Uh, no. Unfortunately, Mr. Padalecki will be feeling the effects of the spell too," Professor Kripke says, wincing. "But it's not that bad. You'll be in tune with each other for a while, connected. But it's on an emotional level only. Nothing dangerous."

"Jared is going to kill me," Jensen says with a groan.

Dean Morgan pats his arm. "Don't worry, Jensen. He'll understand. Jared is a good guy – I'm friends with his family and I've known Jared all his life. In fact, it's probably a good thing that it's Jared and not someone else. He's a very skillful, experienced young wizard. He'll have no trouble dealing with this and helping you through it."

It sounds kind of reassuring, and Jensen offers Dean Morgan a small, grateful smile. It slips right off his lips when there's a short knock on the door of Dean Morgan's office and Jared comes in, a thunderous expression on his face.

"What did you do?" he asks, looking at Jensen.

Jensen instantly feels some of the physical unease go away, now that Jared is so close, but at the same time his stomach twists painfully. "It was an accident. We were making this potion and I must have used one of your hairs. I don't know how it got on my sweater."

Jared narrows his eyes. "You're wearing _my_ sweater."

Jensen looks down at himself. He's wearing a black hoodie with the college's emblem printed on his chest, just like the one Jensen bought from the university's shop on his first day here, but now that he's really looking he notices how the sleeves are a bit too long and the hoodie hangs a little looser than his. 

"Oh," he says weakly.

"Jared," Dean Morgan chimes in, and Jensen curls his arms around himself and doesn't meet anyone's eyes while Dean Morgan and Professor Kripke explain the situation to Jared, and wishes the floor would swallow him up.

+

"I can't believe you fucked up a potion like that. If a spell or potion requires something from yourself you _always_ double-check. And you always, always pluck a hair right from your head to make sure it's really yours," Jared says, tone annoyed, once they're back in their room. "Jesus, they teach that to _toddlers_. You're an adult, Jensen, how can you not know that?"

Jensen feels tears of frustration well up in his eyes and he clenches his hands into fists. 

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't _know_ , because I didn't grow up with magic like you did! I don't know anything about being a wizard and this is all new and overwhelming and I'm sorry I'm such a fuck-up, but I didn't mean to and you being a dick about it isn't helping," he explodes. 

He brushes past Jared and rushes into their bathroom, slamming the door shut before turning the lock. The room is tiny and Jensen curls up in the small space between the shower and the toilet, burying his face in his arms. A few hot, angry tears spill over, soaking his – _Jared's_ – hoodie. His mind is whirling with a flood of emotions that he is pretty sure must be his _and_ Jared's and he thinks if he wasn't feeling so overwhelmed by the whole mess, he'd probably regret not listening to Dean Morgan and Professor Kripke explain the spell they're zunder to him and Jared in detail. Then he'd at least have a better grasp of what's going on, how to handle this.

It's all too much and Jensen feels like he can't breathe.

The lock of the door rattles when Jared tries to open it from outside, and then he starts knocking.

"Jensen. Let me in," he calls out, voice muffled.

Jensen pulls his legs tighter against his chest and wishes he was still home in Texas, that he'd never come here. His parents were right to tell him to live a normal life and ignore his abilities. He's not cut out for this, and he's pretty sure nobody here would be sad to see him go.

"Jensen," Jared repeats, voice louder. "Open the door."

Jensen sniffs.

"You know I can just open this door from outside. I'm a freaking wizard," Jared tells him.

Jensen huffs. "You're not allowed to do stuff like that. I read the rules," he mutters to himself, but he doubts the rules apply to them right now. Whether they want to or not, they're not going to have much privacy for the next couple of days, thanks to Jensen.

The door opens with a soft snick, but Jensen stays where he is, not looking up to watch Jared come in.

"Hey," Jared says, voice soft and right in front of Jensen. A warm hand settles on his neck tentatively. "Hey."

The touch is making Jensen feel better, calm down, and instantly that only makes a fresh wave of tears fall.

"Jensen. No, don't. Come on, don't cry, okay?" Jared murmurs, and Jensen feels him shift, sitting down in front of Jensen. "I kinda overreacted. I didn't mean to be such an ass."

"But you're right," Jensen mutters against his knees. "I suck at this."

"That's not true. You just need to learn all those things that I learned when I was young and sometimes I forget that. I don't know what it's like to not grow up with magic, but I'm sure it's not easy."

Jensen snorts, and turns his head sideways, wiping the tears on his arms as he does so. He stares at the white porcelain of the toilet bowl. "I'm pretty sure everyone else in the beginner classes is doing way better than I am."

"And I'm pretty sure that's not true," Jared replies. "You're too hard on yourself. You need to relax a little, is all."

Jensen huffs out a bitter laugh. "How would you know?"

"Because you're always studying, and I'm sure that's admirable, but knowledge is only one part of being a wizard. Magic isn't something you can just study. It's something you have to do, something you have to _feel_ ," Jared replies, while his hand has started kneading the muscles of Jensen's neck gently. It feels pretty incredible and if it wasn't Jared, Jensen would probably lean into the touch, seek out more. "But hey, I'm pretty sure you could kick everyone else's ass in, like, written tests."

Jensen sighs. "Doesn't matter. They're probably going to fail me and kick me out after the first semester anyway. I shouldn't even have come here."

"They won't. Stop putting yourself down," Jared chides.

Jensen finally looks at Jared, resting his chin on his arms. Jared is right there, sitting in front of him, and caging Jensen in between the shower and the toilet, but it makes Jensen feels oddly better. Safe.

"I really didn't mean to screw the potion up," he says.

Jared smiles, and for the first time Jensen registers that he has dimples. He always liked dimples. 

"I know. Why the hell would anyone want to do that to themselves?" Jared replies. "If it's anyone's fault, it's Kripke's. The guy is crazy talented, but he's probably not the best at teaching. A bit of a scatterbrain, I've heard."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees with a wet laugh, wiping his nose. Then he remembers he's wearing Jared's hoodie still and freezes. "Shit. I'll wash this."

"It's okay," Jared says and waves him off.

"Did you get brainwashed in the last ten minutes or something?" Jensen asks without thinking and then clamps his lips shut.

Jared gives him a small smile. "No," he says. "But feeling your emotions when you locked yourself in here kinda put things in a new perspective. I didn't mean to make you feel so horrible. And I guess you yelling at me helped too."

"Sorry," Jensen says sheepishly. "I usually don't explode like that."

"I think maybe I deserved it. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you."

Jensen wipes his face and doesn't reply, because Jared did kind of deserve the outburst, but Jensen is pretty sure he's still on thin ice with Jared and he doesn't need to do anything to piss him off.

Jared grins knowingly at him. "Come on, let's get up from the floor, yeah? God knows we haven't cleaned it since moving in," he says, getting up.

"Ew," Jensen mutters. He accepts the hand Jared holds out to him and allows Jared to pull him up.

"How about you wash your face and I go get us some food," Jared suggests, and Jensen shrugs.

"Okay," he agrees, and he offers Jared a small smile.

He washes his face, cleaning away traces of salty tears, and considers changing out of Jared's hoodie. Jared hadn't seemed to mind Jensen wearing it though and Jensen feels comfortable, so decides to keep it on for now.

He goes back into their room and sits down on his bed to wait for Jared to return. 

The longer he's gone, the more uncomfortable and restless Jensen starts to feel, his hands clammy and his body strumming with nerves.

For a moment, he wonders if maybe Jared had been lying to him and is now sitting somewhere with his friends, laughing about Jensen and his stupid fuck-up, no doubt able to fend off the horrible effects of the spell Jensen is feeling. It makes a lump form in Jensen's throat and he's about to get up and go look for Jared, his pride be damned, when the door to their dorm opens again and Jared comes back in, carrying a pizza box, a bag of chips, and a big bottle of coke under his arm.

"Sorry, that took longer than I thought."

"It's okay," Jensen lies and forces himself to sit still. 

"Jensen, I _felt_ that you weren't feeling okay. And I had to use a spell, cause I was starting to feel kinda nauseous myself," Jared replies. "I hurried back here as fast as I could."

"Thanks," Jensen says, not sure what else to say.

Jared smiles and sits down next to Jensen, the box of pizza in his lap. 

"Here," he offers, flipping the lid open. "Food will make us feel better. Next time we'll just get something together, though – I should have thought about that sooner. Splitting up probably isn't a good idea for the next couple of days."

Jensen winces.

"Hey, I'm sure it'll be over before we know it," Jared adds.

"Yeah," Jensen says with conviction.

Jared nudges him. "At least you got us out of class for two days."

Jensen takes a slice of pizza and sighs, looking down at it without making a move to take a bite. "I'll fall really behind."

"Bullshit. It's just two days," Jared says. "Your profs will understand and you'll catch up in no time."

"I'm not you," Jensen says. "It's not that easy for me."

"Well, then I'll help you," Jared offers. 

"You wanna help _me_?" Jensen asks, disbelieving.

"Sure. We're roommates. And okay, we're not best friends, but maybe we just got off on the wrong foot, huh?" Jared says. "Look, we're here now and we're getting along fine, right? Let's just – let's try to start over."

"Okay. Yeah. And I'd appreciate your help," Jensen says, and he can tell Jared means it. Can feel how genuine he is, his eagerness to help, like they're Jensen's own feelings.

"Hey," Jared says, voice soft. "You know, before, I was just teasing you sometimes but I didn't mean anything by it. But I think my comments were kinda insensitive sometimes, maybe? I just didn't realize until now that maybe I was being a dick to you."

"It's okay." Jensen waves him off and starts nibbling at his pizza.

"I'll be nicer from now on," Jared adds. "I won't tease you anymore, okay?"

"Okay. And I'll try not to be so sensitive about it," Jensen replies, looking down at his lap. "I, uh, it's just not easy for me. Being here. Everything's so different and I…"

"You what?" Jared presses.

"I thought I'd fit in, you know? I never fit in at home, because nobody else was like me, and I thought things would be different here. But everyone's so far ahead of me and knows so much more and I grew up so differently. I feel more lonely here than I ever did at home."

"You'll get used to it," Jared assures him. "I know it's different. Wen I traveled Europe last year it was kinda hard sometimes too. Culture shock and all that – there was so much to take in and everything was so new and different, and sometimes I just wanted to go back home. But by the end of the year, I didn't want to leave."

"Must have been really exciting though. I always wanted to go to Europe," Jensen says.

"It was," Jared says. "See, just like with you now. It must be kinda exciting for you too, to be here."

Jensen shrugs. "It's mostly just a lot of work," he says. "I haven't really had time to, you know, have fun yet. Except the library – I go there sometimes and it helps me forget about everything. Makes it easier."

He ducks his head after he's said those words, thinking maybe he's said too much. Confided in Jared too much. They're not friends, after all, and Jared doesn't need to know how socially inept Jensen is and that he hasn't made any friends yet, so he spends his free time reading books.

"You must have tried out some fun spells already. That's the best part about magic," Jared says.

Jensen bites his lower lip and shakes his head. "I'm, uh, not too good with spells."

Jared grins suddenly and jumps off the bed. "Come here," he says, standing in the middle of the room and waving Jensen over.

Jensen feels a bit puzzled, but he puts his half eaten slice of pizza back into the box and gets up. He stands with Jared, not sure what to expect, and Jared murmurs something in Latin that Jensen doesn't understand. Jensen is really going to have to brush up on his Latin if he ever wants to get somewhere with those spells.

Suddenly, Jensen feels something fall onto his head and he looks up. There are flowers falling down on them, first a few and then more. It's like standing in the rain, only so much better, and Jensen lets out a surprised laugh.

Jared is watching him with a big grin, small white and pink daisies in his hair and on his clothes. Jensen tips his head back, the flowers falling onto his skin and sliding down his cheeks, soft and tickling, and laughs harder.

When it stops, the floor around them is littered with daisies, like they're standing in a field of flowers.

"How was that for fun?" Jared asks, plucking a daisy from Jensen's hair and handing it to him.

It feels real, _is_ real, and Jensen smells it and smiles. "I wish I could do that."

Jared shrugs. "Small steps," he says. "But I'm sure you'll get there."

Jensen nods, feeling more confident than he has since the first week of classes ended. "Show me something else," he says.

"Hmm," Jared says, looking thoughtful for a second. "Okay, close your eyes."

Jensen does as he's told, and listens Jared murmur something.

"Open them again," Jared says seconds later and when Jensen opens his eyes and looks at Jared, nothing has changed.

"Turn around," Jared says, nudging him.

Jensen turns around and finds his side of the room is pink. The walls, the bedding, the furniture, everything.

"Jared," Jensen exclaims indignantly, but when he hears Jared start to laugh helplessly and turns back around to face him, he can't help smiling. 

Jared looks absolutely delighted, mouth parted and dimples deep as he laughs, and Jensen is pretty sure there are tears in his eyes too. He can feel Jared's happiness, twirling around in his head and seeping through every pore of his body. It's an incredible feeling, Jared is so free and joyous, and Jensen suddenly realizes how attractive Jared really is. It's not just looks – Jensen realized Jared was good-looking the second they met, because it's pretty hard not to notice when someone is the size of a giant – but there's something more than that to him. His smile, his laugh, the mischief in his eyes. His happiness.

Jensen watches Jared, and waits for him to calm down before nudging him in the side.

"Change it back," he says.

"I don't know. It kinda suits you," Jared teases, eyes twinkling, but he changes it back for Jensen a moment later.

+

When Jensen goes to bed that night, feeling pretty good about himself, there's something lying under his covers. He startles until his hand closes around it and he realizes it's a stuffed animal.

Jensen pulls it out and looks at it. It's a puppy, a retriever, fluffy and soft and adorable – and the spitting image of the dog they used to have when Jensen was younger. He has a photo of him and his siblings sitting on the nightstand among his other family photos, Jensen holding the puppy in his arms and grinning from ear to ear. He thinks Jared must have seen it.

"You said you felt lonely," Jared says from across the room, already in bed. "Dogs are a man's best friend, right?"

"Yeah," Jensen says, voice soft. "They are."

"Good night, Jensen," Jared says.

Jensen lies down and switches off the light. "Night," he says. He curls up under the covers, pressing the dog to his chest, and falls asleep peacefully.

+

The next couple of days do pass surprisingly fast, just like Jared predicted they would.

Jensen gets a lot of reading done, trying to keep up with what he's missing out on in his classes, and he starts on an essay he has to write for _American History of Witches and Wizards_. Jared helps him find the right books in the library for it and gives him a few tips and pointers. He comes from a long line of witches and wizards, and for him it seems more like reciting the story of his family instead of history. He also makes it a lot more entertaining, too, adding a few anecdotes about his ancestors that his parents and grandparents told him.

Jared is the main reason why the two days they're stuck together turn out to be okay. It's nice to finally have someone to really talk to at college, someone who Jensen thinks could become a friend, and by the end of the second day it feels more like they're hanging out instead of forced to be together.

Jensen almost wishes the potion would work for a couple more days, and he's a bit disappointed when they can finally go about their days separately again and resume their classes.

+

One of the things Jensen had to promise his parents when he left for college (his mom always stresses the word college when they talk, all of her disapproval for what Jensen is doing rolled up in that one word) was to call them regularly. Usually, he tries to call them once a week.

This week, he waits a few extra days until things with Jared and him are back to normal. Jared and he might be on their way to becoming friends, but Jensen really doesn't want him to listen in on his conversations with his parents. They're awkward enough without having someone else hearing every word because you're magically linked to them.

Jensen loves his parents, he really does, but things between them haven't been the same since Jensen found out he was a wizard. It was okay the first few years, when Jensen went to high school and pretended there wasn't anything about him that made him different – no matter how weird people got around him and how much he was teased at school – and the whole surprise!wizard thing wasn't ever mentioned in his family. The only time things really got uncomfortable were family gatherings, because you didn't just _happen_ to be a wizard; it was something genetic and that meant everyone knew someone in the family was keeping secrets. Neither of Jensen's parents had any magical abilities, so it had to have been passed on from one of Jensen's grandparents. Jensen's mom, of course, suspected her mother-in-law. The two of them had never gotten along and since Jensen's grandma had died a few years earlier and wasn't around to prove otherwise, Jensen's mom refused to believe it wasn't her. Jensen's other three grandparents all steadfastly insisted they didn't have a magical bone in their bodies, which only really proved her theory. Jensen couldn't deny that it made sense, but he didn't get why it mattered. He was a wizard, no matter who had passed the gene on to him, and it wasn't like it was a damn disease, though sometimes his parents sure acted like it was. So at family gatherings with his dad's side of the family, his mom would ask subtle questions while Jensen sat there and wished he was somewhere else, and sooner or later his parents would come to blows over the whole thing. 

Jensen's grandpa and aunts and uncles came around a lot less after the first few disastrous dinners.

But all in all, things between Jensen and his parents had been okay for the most part. They had trouble accepting he was a wizard, but Jensen never felt unloved or excluded from his family. 

Things got tougher, however, when Jensen finished high school and told his parents he didn't want to go to a normal college, didn't want to be _normal_. He was a wizard, no matter how hard everyone had tried to ignore it, and he wanted to see what it meant, find out who he really was.

The year between high school and leaving for California had been, hands down, one of the most uncomfortable ones of Jensen's life. His parents had, at first subtly and then more insistently, tried to sway him, to get him to stay, and Jensen had thrown himself into stupid jobs just to avoid being home all the time.

Jensen knows that his parents are disappointed in his choices, and when he talks to them on the phone now, he gets the suspicion they're actually in denial of what Jensen is doing in California.

Sure, Jensen's mom asks him about his classes and his friends, but the moment Jensen talks about anything related to magic she gets silent, makes humming noise to show she's listening but never comments on anything and then tries to change the topic. When Jensen mentions potions or spells, she asks him if he has many papers to write, because his brother Josh does, or if he's doing any sports at college, or if he's met any nice girls yet. Jensen usually goes with it, tries to avoid mentioning anything that reminds his mother that he's a wizard but sometimes it just slips out. Not being able to talk about this part of his life sucks, but Jensen knows he can't force his parents to be comfortable with magic when it goes against everything they believe and have been brought up to believe.

"Things with my roommate are getting a lot better," he says today, folding his legs under himself.

"Oh. That's nice, Jensen. You know how worried I was about you living with a boy that you don't get along with," his mother replies.

"Yeah, I think maybe my first impression of him was wrong. The last couple of days we –," Jensen starts, and halts. _Were magically tied together_ , is at the tip of his tongue. "– we talked."

"I'm glad, honey," his mother says. "And how are classes?"

"Okay. Kinda tough. I have a lot to catch up on, you know," Jensen says vaguely.

"But you were always doing so well in school."

Jensen plays with the hem of his shirt. "Yeah, but it's different here. The classes are nothing like what we did in school," he says. "Cause. You know."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure," his mother says quickly, laughing nervously. "And sports, honey? You used to love playing lacrosse. Have you tried to find out if there's a team at your college yet?"

Jensen has, but like everything else, sports here are different and Jensen doubts he's quite up for any of that yet when he can't even perform the simplest spells yet. "I'm too busy with classes," he lies.

"That's too bad."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees. "Listen, mom, I actually have to go. Studying and stuff."

"Of course, I didn't mean to distract you," his mother says. "I love you, Jensen."

"I love you, too, mom," Jensen says softly. "I'll call you next week?"

"You do that, honey," his mother says, before saying goodbye.

Jensen hangs up and curls up on his bed, staring at the wall across the room, and wishing he'd grown up a bit more like Jared.

+

"Wands are stupid," Jared says, and Jensen waves his wand stubbornly. Nothing happens with the book lying in front of them on the bed and he deflates.

"Or _I'm_ stupid," he says. "Professor Gamble said I needed to be able to show her I can do this before our next class. Everyone else learned how to do this last week while we were, you know, all screwed up from the potion, and I need to catch up. She was really serious, Jared. And mid-terms are next week. I need to be able to do this for my midterms or I might as well pack up my things and go home!"

"Professor Gamble's all bark and no bite. And stop calling yourself stupid," Jared chides. "Come here."

He doesn't wait for Jensen to move and shifts closer instead, one arm coming around Jensen, and curls his hand around Jensen's and the wand.

"You know why kids and beginners like you are given a wand to help?" he asks, voice a quiet murmur.

Jensen shakes his head.

"Okay, for one, it's made from wood. Plants, the earth, it's all full of energy that we draw from. Wood acts like a conductor, receiving your magic and directing it where you need it to go. And for another, it gives you something to focus on, a place to direct your magic, your thoughts, which helps when you're still learning how to use magic."

"Makes sense," Jensen says.

"Okay, now, what you need to do is focus, but don't try to force it. The less tense you are the better. Magic is something that comes from inside you, Jensen, you just need to learn to tap into it and make use of it. You need to relax, to let it happen," Jared instructs.

"It's not that easy."

"Has it ever worked? Other than your horrible potions, that is," Jared asks.

Jensen shrugs, feeling Jared's arm around him shift with the movement. "Not here. But at home. Uh, I was fourteen and my friends and I found a wand. We played around with it and I'm not sure what I did, but I waved it at our bags lying on the ground, you know, and they kinda floated a few inches in the air."

"See, you weren't really trying then because you didn't know you had any magic in you. It just happened naturally," Jared encourages. "Didn't even need a spell – most wizards can only do that with spells they're already quite familiar with. So, you know, that's pretty incredible, Jensen."

"I never looked at it that way," Jensen says with a small smile, and Jared squeezes his hand.

"Well, now you know," he says. "Okay, so, think about what it is you want to do."

"Turn the page of the book," Jensen says, looking at the book lying open in front of them on his bed.

"Now, picture it happening in your mind, say the spell, and feel the wand in your hand," Jared says. "Simple as that. You just need to let it happen."

"Okay," Jensen says, breathing out slowly. He tries to stay calm, focused, and pictures the page turning, swiping the wand through the air with Jared while muttering what he hopes are the correct words. Nothing happens.

"Again," Jared murmurs. "Just try again. Focus and relax."

Jensen nods, takes a few more moments to prepare this time, keeping his mind carefully blank of anything but what he wants to do and then moves the wand. The page flutters, the rustling loud in the air, and then turns.

"Oh my god," Jensen exclaims, twisting around to look at Jared. "Did you see that?"

Jared is smiling and nodding his head. "Sure did."

"Was that me?"

"Well, it wasn't me, so I'd say yes."

"Really?" Jensen asks.

Jared grins. "All you. Promise."

Jensen acts before thinking, throwing his arms around Jared's neck and hugging him tightly. "Thank you," he says. "Thank you, Jared."

Jared is laughing softly in his ear, hugging him back. "No problem," he says.

Jensen pulls back and flushes a little, tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie. "Sorry. Got a bit excited."

"It's okay. I'm a big supporter of hugging. Hugs are awesome," Jared says with a serious nod, and Jensen laughs softly. 

"Hey, Jared," he says finally, biting down on his lower lip. "I know I wasn't your biggest fan at first, but I'm glad I got you as my roommate. You've really been helping me a lot. So, you know, thanks for everything."

"Thanks for giving me a second chance to prove I'm not an ass," Jared replies, and Jensen grins.

"No problem," he replies.

+

Jensen's midterms don't exactly go off without a hitch, but he's pretty sure he didn't fail anything and that's more than good enough for him. He thinks he did all right in all the written parts of his exams, and the potion he had to make in Professor Kripke's midterm was a pale green color instead of the bright green it was supposed to be, but Jensen saw potions in every color imaginable in the lab so he figures he came close enough. And thanks to Jared's hours and hours of help, he managed to cast most of the spells he had to preform for Professor Gamble's exam and did better than he thought.

He feels relieved, and a bit more at ease, walking across campus. He knows he still has a long way to go, but Jensen finally feels like maybe he's not going to completely fail at being a wizard after all.

+

Jensen is sitting in a small booth in the coffeehouse on campus, a stack of books in front of him. He's chewing at the end of his pencil while reading when someone sits down in front of him, and Jensen looks up, startled.

It's Jared and he's beaming at him, hair wild and a bright blue t-shirt with an outline of a guy with a pointed hat riding a broom. 'Save a broom, ride a wizard!,' it says underneath and Jensen has to laugh despite how awful the line is.

"You like it? I can get you one," Jared says, peering down at his shirt.

"I'm fine, thanks," Jensen quickly says, shaking his head.

"All true though," Jared says, winking. "Riding a wizard is more fun than riding a broom."

"Got much experience with riding brooms?" Jensen asks, then cocks his head to the side. "Or wizards."

"To one the answer is yes, to the other no," Jared replies with a grin. "But I won't tell you which is which."

Jensen flushes. "Oh," he says. "Okay."

"That's not a problem, right?" Jared asks, his grin never fading.

Jensen shrugs. "Well, if you rode a broom, that might be weird. People don't actually do that, right?"

Jared laughs. "We could. I mean, I can make things levitate, so I guess I could make a broom with me on it fly through the air," he says. "Or, you know, a hockey stick. Or a board. Or one of those floor lamps. Or a branch. Or--"

"I get it, Jared," Jensen interrupts with a smile, kicking him under the table.

"So, studying again?" Jared asks, changing the subject.

Jensen wrinkles his nose. "Research for a paper in _Modern Witchcraft_."

"Boring," Jared says with a fake yawn. 

"Yeah," Jensen admits. "But I wanna get it out of the way so I can practice actual magic some more."

"You gonna want help with that again?" Jared asks. He reaches over and steals Jensen's coffee mug. He takes a sip and makes a face and while putting it back down, he mouthes something. Jensen watches steam come up, and when he touches the mug it's no longer lukewarm from sitting around untouched for too long.

"Thanks," he says. "And yeah, sure. I mean, unless you have plans with your friends and stuff."

"Some," Jared says with a shrug. "But I have some time to help you."

"That'd be great," Jensen says.

Jared grins at him and then glances at the counter. "So, hey, you come here to study or because of that cute red-head whose been watching you the whole time."

"What?" Jensen asks, and follows Jared's gaze. He flushes when he meets Danneel's eyes and looks back at Jared. "Shut up. Danneel's just doing her job, being attentive."

"Danneel, huh?"

"Yes, Danneel. She works here and we've chatted a couple of times," Jensen says defensively. "That's it."

"Hmm. She kinda looks like she wants to jump your bones, Jensen."

"She does not," Jensen argues and stubbornly looks down at his book, trying to find the last sentence he'd read before Jared interrupted him.

Jared laughs. "Aw, that's cute. Do you like her? I can go talk to her for you if you want to, tell her you're shy."

"I'll kill you," Jensen hisses, not looking up. "Anyway I'm not interested in her. And she's not interested in me."

"The lady doth protest too much," Jared replies. "I should go talk to her."

"Jared, no," Jensen exclaims when Jared makes a move to get up, and grabs his wrist. "Please, don't."

"Come on, are you really that shy?" Jared asks.

Jensen tightens his grip on Jared's wrist warningly. "No. Just that not into her."

"She's hot."

"That's not the problem," Jensen says pointedly. 

"Then what is?"

Jensen bites his lower lip, rolling it between his teeth, and then looks around carefully. He lets go of Jared's wrist and waves his hand at Jared's shirt.

"What?" Jared asks, looking down at himself before understanding passes over his face. "Oh. You like riding wizards, not being ridden by witches, huh?"

"Jared," Jensen warns, flushing.

Jared laughs. "Oh god, does talking about sex make you blush?" he asks, sounding way too delighted.

"No," Jensen huffs, because Jared really does not need any more ammunition against him.

"Really?" Jared asks, and leans over the table. "So you like cocks, huh? Big, hard cocks. Do you like the way they feel when they slide into you, fill you, or do you like to be the one on top, Jensen?"

"Please stop," Jensen says, feeling absolutely mortified, and Jared chuckles.

"That's the most adorable thing ever."

Jensen buries his face in his hands and shakes his head.

"But it is. You're shy...and maybe prudish."

"I'm not prudish," Jensen says, glaring at Jared. "Shut up."

"Talking about sex makes you blush," Jared repeats. "I'm pretty sure that makes you a bit prudish, in a cute way. Or are you a virgin?"

Jensen ducks his head and stares down at his books.

"Jensen?" Jared asks. "Are you a virgin?"

"Shut up," Jensen mumbles again, and he's sure his cheeks are bright red. 

"Wow," Jared replies, sounding stunned.

Jensen looks up, frustrated. "I'll hurt you if you start making fun of me for that. It's not like I wanna be a virgin," he hisses. "I just didn't really know any gay guys at home and then there was the fact that I wasn't exactly the most popular kid to begin with because I can do magic. It doesn't exactly make regular people want to have sex with you."

"I wasn't saying anything, Jensen," Jared says reassuringly, holding up his hands. "It's not a big deal, Jensen. In fact, I think it's kinda hot."

"Hot," Jensen repeats. "How is being embarrassingly inexperienced an attractive trait?"

"It's endearing," Jared says, and when Jensen narrows his eyes he holds up his hands. "Okay, not endearing then. But still hot. Like, your first boyfriend, he'll be the one teaching you things and you'll never have done any of that with anyone else. I don't know about all guys, but I'm sure quite a few would agree with me that that's kind of a turn-on."

Jensen scrunches up his nose. "Really?" he asks. "You really think a guy will think it's hot that he'll have to teach me how sex works?"

Jared laughs. "I'm sure you know how it works," he says. "And, yes. It's a bit like with you and magic – you're inexperienced with that too, and getting to show you stuff and teach you stuff is kinda exciting, because you're so excited by it and I get to be the cool guy who knows all this stuff and can show you the ropes."

"Huh," Jensen says. "I'm gonna ignore the part where you implied showing me magic turns you on because I'm inexperienced, but that kinda makes sense, yeah. Hopefully one day I'll find a guy who'll feel the same way you do about the whole thing."

Jared grins. "If you went out once in a while, maybe you'd find him sooner rather than later," he says. 

"Where? I mean, it's not like with girls. I can't just walk up to someone and flirt. What if the guy ends up being a homophobe?"

"Jensen, in case you haven't noticed, witches and wizards are, uh, well, my granddad said we're very laid back when it comes to our sexuality. My grandma always told me we're what the non-magical population would call slutty," Jared says with a shrug, like he's not really sure if it's true. "But she was kinda conservative and up-tight about the whole thing, so everyone kinda just ignored her."

"So?" Jensen asks. "Being laid back about sex and homophobia aren't mutually exclusive."

"Well, no, but trust me, it's not gonna be a big deal to most people here. I mean, I'm sure there are witches and wizards that are intolerant or something, but most of the people I know are pretty open minded about stuff like that. I mean, what's the big deal? Gender doesn't really matter that much. If you like someone, you like someone," Jared says, and then grins. "Welcome to the world of magic, Jensen Ackles, where everything and everyone is a bit different. Now, if you think the love of your life is a potted plant on the other hand, that might get you looked at weirdly."

"What?" Jensen asks, puzzled.

Jared laughs. "There's this girl in my _Advanced Potions_ class," he starts. "She swears she has a cactus that is her soulmate. Her roommate told us she talks to it all the time about her feelings and stuff and how love knows no bounds and surpasses the constraint of species. She's a bit crazy, if you ask me."

"A bit?"

"Well, I agree that love knows no bounds, but I kinda draw the lines at species. Wizards and witches only for me."

"So, uh, both wizards and witches then, huh?"

Jared grins. "I love everyone," he says, happily.

Jensen shakes his head. "How could I ever think you're an ass when you're really just a huge dork?" he asks, and Jared beams at him as if that was actually a compliment. It makes Jensen feel a wave of fondness and thinks he must have been crazy not to like Jared.

+

Jensen is sitting in at his desk, reading a spell from a book in front of him to make it levitate, and waving his wand.

He gasps when, instead of hovering in the air, a drawing appears on the page of the book. A drawing of a cock. And not one of those crude renderings you find on bathroom stalls and stuff, but a lifelike, perfect drawing. Jensen blushes and quickly glances at Jared, who is sitting on his bed with headphones on and a book open in his lap.

Jensen tries to think of a way to fix this, but he is capable of exactly nine spells and none of them are designed to help in a situation like this. He skims the book's index hectically, but of course, there's nothing there either. Not that Jensen really knows what he's looking for, because he's pretty sure there's not gonna a spell titled _How to make drawings of cocks disappear_ in his text book.

"Jensen? You okay?" Jared asks, pushing his headphones down and looking at him curiously. 

"Yes," Jensen squeaks, and his face feels hot. 

"You sure? You need help with your assignments?" 

"No, I'm fine," Jensen says, vehemently shaking his head. He nudges the book away, hoping Jared won't see anything.

"What are you working on?" Jared asks, leaning forward a bit.

"Levitating," Jensen says, trying to sound casual. 

"Cool. You got a hang of it yet?"

"Getting there," Jensen lies with a nod, and Jared smiles.

"Okay," he says, drawing the word out, and goes back to reading.

Jensen deflates, looking back at his book and the cock covering a good half of the page with the spell. He must have mispronounced some word, or missed something, and Professor Gamble is going to kill him if he not only doesn't know how to make things levitate by tomorrow, but also has a drawing of a penis in his book.

Jensen sighs, and prays that maybe they'll move on to the next spell quickly and nobody will see this page. If Jensen knows the spell by heart, he won't even have to open the book at this particular page, and nobody will be the wiser.

Determined, Jensen reads the spell a few times, carefully making sure he has every word right, and then picks up his wand to try again. 

The drawing of the penis is replaced by the drawing of two very naked, very male bodies, doing things together that make Jensen flush so hotly he thinks his head is going to explode.

"Oh god," he mutters.

Jared snickers.

Jensen whirls around and stares at him. "Are you doing this?" he asks, horrified.

Jared looks at him innocently, but the corners of his lips are twitching like he's holding back a laugh. "Doing what?" he asks sweetly.

"Jared," Jensen hisses. "The drawings."

"You have to be more specific. What drawings? I don't see any drawings."

"The ones in my book," Jensen says.

"Still don't know what you're talking about. What drawings are there in your book?"

"I think you know," Jensen says with a glare.

"Hmm, nope. Come on, Jensen, use your words. What drawings are there in your book?"

"Pornographic ones that appear when I do a spell," Jensen mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. "Make them go away."

"I promise I didn't do anything," Jared says.

"I don't believe you."

"How about I prove it?" Jared says. "I'd need to move my lips to use a spell like that, right?"

"Right," Jensen says slowly.

"Well, do a spell and watch me," Jared says with an easy shrug.

Jensen looks at Jared suspiciously, but he picks up his hand and mutters a spell that's supposed to turn on the lights, watching Jared's unmoving lips closely. It's the only spell Jensen knows by heart and it's going off without a hitch these days.

To Jensen's horror, instead of the lamp overhead lighting up, a huge drawing of a penis appears on their ceiling. A very erect penis, with a drop of pre-come at the tip. Jensen is pretty sure he's heaving trouble breathing at this point, and Jared collapses into laughter.

"Oh holy shit, Jared," Jensen exclaims. "What did you do?"

Jared takes a minute to calm down and Jensen stands in the middle of their room with his arms crossed, glaring.

"What did you do?" he hisses out.

Jared grins, wiping a tear from his eye. "Your wand," he says, a little breathless.

"You broke my wand?"

"Fixed it," Jared corrects. "To create beautiful, beautiful things. I thought you liked dicks, Jensen?"

Jensen blushes and throws his wand at Jared, satisfied when he actually hits his head. "I hate you," he says. "Oh my god, you better fix this. I have to use the wand in class tomorrow."

"Man, I'd love to see that," Jared says with a chuckle.

"Jared, please," Jensen whines., and god he regrets ever talking to Jared about his both his sexuality and the fact that he's a virgin. He should have known Jared was going to use those things against him.

Jared gets up from the bed, picking up Jensen's wand. "Don't worry, princess, it's a simple spell," he promises.

Jensen watches with trepidation as Jared pulls out a book, flips through some pages until he finds the spell he's looking for.

"Here," he says a moment later, handing Jensen his wand back. "All fixed."

"You better not be lying," Jensen warns. "And makes those drawings disappear."

"Really? I kinda like that one," Jared says, pointing at the ceiling. "We might both have really good dreams if we fall asleep with that over our heads."

"Jared."

"Fine," Jared says with a chuckle. He flicks Jensen's nose and grins. "But admit it, you did kinda like them, right?"

"No," Jensen adamantly says, shaking his head and sitting back at his desk without looking at Jared, but he's pretty sure his cheeks are still red and his heart is still beating a bit faster. Jared cackles.

+

On Saturday, after teaching Jensen how to make tiny, delicate blades of grass grow from a pod of soil, Jared talks Jensen into going out with him. Jensen feels like he could burst from excitement, because he made real grass blades pop out of the earth within seconds, so he agrees easily.

Jared drags him to a mixer of some club his friend Chad is a member of and invited him to. Jensen suspects it's something like 'Douchy Wizards', judging by the kind of people there and by the kind of guy Chad is. Jensen doesn't know him well, but he's met Chad often enough to know he doesn't like him. He's come over to their dorm room a handful of times to get Jared when they were going out and hung out in there once or twice. He looks at Jensen like there's something wrong with him and it makes Jensen uncomfortable.

Chad doesn't exactly looked thrilled to see Jensen at the party either, giving him a curt nod before engaging Jared in a conversation. Jensen stands with them awkwardly, sipping the drink Jared gave him and listening half-heartedly.

He wonders if this is the kind of thing Jared does when he's not in their dorm room, if these are the kind of people he hangs out with. He tells himself Jared doesn't look like he's having the time of his life either, but he thinks maybe he's seeing what he wants to see. He wants Jared to be the likable dork he's gotten to know, the fun, helpful, smart guy, and not some guy who hangs out at douchey parties with guys and girls who look too full of themselves to function. This party is filled with those people and Jensen feels like he sticks out like a sore thumb. 

The house they're in is completely packed, and when Chad drags Jared off to say hi to some mutual friend he's spotted at the other end of the room, Jensen looses Jared in the crowd despite trying to follow him.

For a while, he just stands around with the stupid drink in his hand that he doesn't even want, and waits for Jared to return. When he's still not come back ten minutes later, Jensen sets the cup down on a chest of drawers and decides to leave.

He makes it a few feet before someone touches his arm, and he turns around.

"Hey," a blond guy says, smiling. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Jensen shakes his head. "Sorry. You must be confusing me with someone," he mumbles.

The guy keeps smiling. "Nah, I'm sure I've seen you around before. Professor Walker's class? Or maybe Linemaker's?"

Jensen shakes his head again.

"Sure?" the guy asks. "Huh. Well, I'm Darius."

"Jensen," Jensen replies.

"Pleasure to meet you, Jensen," Darius says with a wink. "Nice party, huh? You having fun?"

"I was just about to leave, actually," Jensen says honestly.

"Oh, no. Come on, stay a little. How about I get you a drink and we talk some more?" Darius asks, leaning in closer. "To be honest, I'm pretty sure you're not in one my classes, but I think I saw you at the coffeehouse once and thought you were cute. And you seem a lot more interesting than everyone else here tonight."

"Oh," Jensen says. "I—thank you, I guess."

"So, you gonna stay?"

Jensen looks at the hopeful expression of the guy in front of him and has to admit he's not too bad looking. He looks nice, genuinely interested, and Jensen finds himself nodding. "Why not?" he says, and Darius smiles.

They get a drink together and decide to stay in the kitchen, because it's less crowded and quieter there. Jensen knows Darius is hitting on him, standing closer than necessary and laughing at the jokes Jensen makes like they're the funniest things in the world. He keeps touching Jensen, small casual brushes of his fingers against Jensen's arm, and Jensen feels flattered, likes the attention. He's never really had something like that happen to him before, and it's exciting. New.

Jared finds him a good thirty minutes later, bustling into the room and making everyone's heads turn. Jensen always noticed that Jared is pretty tall, but here in a crowd of people, Jensen realizes just how tall and built Jared really is, compared to other people their age. It garners him a lot of attention, and more than a few people eye Jared with interest when he comes into the room. The wide smile and dimples probably help, too. 

His face lights up when he spots Jensen, completely unaware of the fact that more than one person is checking him out, and Jensen gives him a small wave.

"I was looking everywhere for you," Jared exclaims, before he notices Darius standing by Jensen's side. He stills and his expression suddenly darkens. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out Jared isn't pleased.

"I kinda lost you in the crowd," Jensen says. "I was talking to Darius here, though."

"Right," Jared says, giving Darius a curt nod. "Well, thanks for keeping Jensen entertained for me."

"I wasn't doing it for you," Darius replies honestly, and Jensen blushes.

"Well, he came with me," Jared replies, throwing his arm around Jensen's shoulders, and Jensen tells himself he's imagining the possessive trace in Jared's voice. 

"Doesn't mean he has to leave with you," Darius says with a small shrug.

"We live together," Jared says, then turns to Jensen. "So, hey, the party's kinda boring, huh? Wanna go somewhere else? Home maybe?"

Jensen thinks he should probably say no, because there's a guy right there who is obviously interested in him and he seems nice and sweet, and Jensen should really try to talk to him some more. This is what he wanted after all – to meet some nice guy, get to know him, date.

"I wanted to show you something," Jared adds in a murmur, meeting his eyes.

"Okay," Jensen agrees, and gives Darius an apologetic smile. 

Darius shrugs easy. "I get it," he says, and Jensen is not sure what he gets, but he decides not to pry. "Maybe I'll see you around, Jensen. It was really nice to talk to you."

"Yeah," Jensen says. "See you."

Jared makes a face as he leads Jensen out of the kitchen and outside. "That guy seemed kinda weird."

"He was nice," Jensen replies. "A lot more interesting than all the other people at the party."

"Well, it wasn't the best party. Chad is friends with weird people," Jared brushes it off. 

"So, uh, you wanted to show me something?" Jensen asks, changing the subject.

"Right, yeah, I did," Jared says with a nod. He wraps one hand around Jensen's wrist and leads him down a small path, away from the main way winding across campus. He stops by a huge tree, pulling Jensen close.

"Don't move to much. You'll scare them off," Jared murmurs.

"Scare who off?" Jensen asks, but Jared shushes him, a look of concentration on his face. He whispers a spell, his hand still around Jensen's arm, and Jensen holds still, waiting for something to happen. 

The lights are tiny specks at first, barely noticeably, but then they get closer, more and more. 

"Fireflies," Jensen says, a bit awed.

There are dozens of them, maybe even more, dancing around in the dark night around Jared and him, and Jensen turns in a slow circle, taking it in.

"Wow," he says in a whisper, and Jared chuckles softly.

"My dad used to do this spell for me when I was a kid. I loved it," he explains. "Neat trick, huh?"

"It's beautiful, Jared," Jensen says truthfully, smiling to himself. 

"It is," Jared agrees. "So you like it? Worth leaving the party for?"

"Totally," Jensen replies, and turns to look at Jared again. It's only then that he noticed how close they're standing, feet almost touching, and Jared is watching him with a small smile that suddenly makes Jensen's heartbeat pick up.

For a split moment, he thinks Jared is going to kiss him, but then Jared clears his throat and takes a step back.

"I thought you might like it," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "So, uh, we should get back to the dorm."

"Yeah," Jensen says, not sure why he's feeling so disappointed, and nods. "We should."

+

Over the next couple of weeks, Professor Gamble teaches the class how to mend broken glass and bend metal, and Jared teaches Jensen how to change the color of his hair (unhelpful), how to mix a love potion that he doesn't guarantee will work (Jared claims he only knows it because he has a sister), and when Jensen wakes up with a raging headache one morning Jared teaches him a spell to ease pain (possibly the best thing Jensen's ever learned in his life).

They mostly hang out together in their dorm, but a couple of times they get coffee together at the coffeehouse and Danneel is there both times. She chats with Jensen while serving them coffee, and once, when Jared excuses himself to go to the bathroom, she slides into the booth across from Jensen with a grin.

"Your boyfriend?" she asks. 

"Oh no. He's just my roommate," Jensen quickly says.

"Really?" Danneel asks, eyebrows raised. "He's really cute."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees, then adds, "a lot of people seem to think so anyway. He's pretty popular."

"Well, he only seems to have eyes for you," Danneel says conspiratorially.

Jensen flushes and shakes his head. "No. He's just like that – focused, you know. He, uh, pays attention, is all, but it's not like that with him and me."

"Too bad," Danneel says. "You'd be hot together."

Jensen is pretty sure he's bright red by now and he shakes his head more vehemently. "I doubt he'd be interested," he says in a rush.

Danneel grins and winks. "Don't be too sure," she says. "So, tall, dark and hunky is coming back from the bathroom so I better leave you alone. And hey, you should come around here more often."

She slides out of the booth and blows Jensen a kiss, a cloud of glitter coming off her hand and sailing down onto the table. Jensen watches with a grin, and Jared sits back down with a huff across from him.

Today, he's wearing a shirt that says 'Wanna play with my wand?', and Jensen has to look away in order not to blush every time he reads it. Not that he looks at Jared's chest very often, but Jared is so tall his chest just seems _right there_ in Jensen's face all the time and it's hard.

"Cheap trick," Jared says, sounding a bit put out, blowing glitter away from his side of the table.

"I think it's cool," Jensen says, and he traces the tip of his finger through the small layer of glittery dust on the table. 

"It's just glitter."

"Hmm, so totally different from flowers and fireflies," Jensen teases.

"Those are living things. That's a lot harder," Jared defends. "Anyone can make glitter."

"If you say so," Jensen replies.

"So, what did she want? Ask you out?"

Jensen squints at Jared. "No," he says. "Just wanted to keep me company while you were gone."

"Right."

"Jared," Jensen complains. "I'm making a friend, I think. Be happy for me."

Jared gives him a fake grin. "I'm happy," he says. 

"Liar."

"Fine," Jared says. "But if you wanted to make friends, you should have told me. I'll introduce you to my friends. They're awesome – you'll love them, I promise."

Jensen shrugs. "Sure. But there's nothing wrong with making my own friends," he says, and doesn't say he doubts he'll get along with Jared's friends if Chad is anything to go by. Jensen is pretty sure Chad hates him, or at least thinks Jensen is the incarnation of evil, practicing dark magic behind Jared's back and planning his demise. He just hopes the rest of Jared's friends are at least a bit more normal.

+

When they walk out of the coffeehouse side by side, Jared suddenly jumps aside and Jensen is doused in what has to be a bucket of glitter. He blinks and then sputters, looking at Jared in shock.

Around them people are looking at them, laughing, and Jared grins.

"Told you, cheap trick," he says.

"You –," Jensen starts, looking down at himself and then back at Jared. "I can't believe you did that."

"You like glitter," Jared reminds him teasingly. "I thought it would make you happy."

"Jared!" Jensen exclaims indignantly. "You dropped a _pound_ of glitter on me."

"You look cute though," Jared says with grin. He flicks Jensen's nose, Jensen's eyes going cross to follow the movement.

"I don't."

Jared grins. "You really, really do," he says, and his voice is softer, fonder, and the look in his eyes makes Jensen's belly tingle with warmth. 

It's easy to forgive Jared after that, even if Jensen still finds glitter on himself weeks later.

+

Jared takes the whole 'Jensen needs friends so I'm going to introduce him to mine thing' seriously and they meet Jared's friends at a bowling alley right next to campus a couple of days later.

Jensen's eyes grow wide when he enters. The pins are hovering in the air instead of on the ground, and everywhere lanterns are floating a good ten feet off the ground, basking the bowling lanes into soft lights. Jensen isn't surprised to see that many of the lanes are occupied by couples, because the atmosphere is really kind of romantic.

"Wow," he says, then grimaces. "Jared, how will I..."

"Don't worry. You can bowl the way you're used to, with the pins on the ground and everything. It might actually give you an advantage – hitting floating pins is damn hard," Jared says with a laugh and a wink. He throws one arm around Jensen's shoulder. "Come on, there are my friends."

Jensen follows Jared to the small group of people, his eyes growing wide once more when he sees one of them is wearing a cloak and an actual pointed hat. Jensen expected a lot of things, but this isn't one of them. He thinks he could have known. Half of the time Jared wears weird stuff too, after all. Today he's wearing a pale yellow shirt with the words 'I can make your earth shake, baby (literally)'. He'd asked Jensen what he thought about the t-shirt with a smirk on his face, and Jensen is starting to wonder if Jared is wearing those t-shirts on purpose to get to Jensen. If he is, it's sure working, because Jensen is pretty sure he'd stuttered a bit when he'd told Jared he liked the color.

"What--," he starts, but then stops because they're close enough that Jared's friends can probably hear him.

Jared snickers. "That's Misha. He wears that outfit _ironically_ ," he says, and that fact that he thinks that Misha is full of shit is clear in his face. "Guys, this is Jensen."

Misha smiles serenely. "Pleasure to meet you, Jensen," he says, bowing down a little. He takes Jensen's hand and actually presses a kiss to it, much to Jensen's mortification.

"Uh, hi?" he says.

"He thinks you people who grow up without magic greet each other like that," a girl with dark hair says, rolling her eyes.

"Only the beautiful maidens," Misha says, looking at Jensen.

"I'm not a maiden," Jensen replies carefully. "And I'm pretty sure kissing someone's hand is outdated. Like, from before modernity kind of outdated."

Next to him, Jared is shaking with laughter, and Misha looks at Jensen.

"Well, I like to think I'm a gentleman," he says. "And you are more beautiful than any maiden ever could be – you deserve a respectful greeting, Jensen. It's a shame other guys have apparently not treated you the way you should be treated."

"Thank you?" Jensen says tentatively.

"Ignore him," Jared advises through laughter.

"It's what we all do," the dark haired girl says, and holds out her hand. "I'm Genevieve."

"Hi. Jensen," Jensen replies, and she grins.

"I know. Jared's been talking about you a lot lately."

Jensen shrugs, a bit embarrassed. "I guess that happens when someone accidentally forges a magical connection between them and you."

"Point," Genevieve says with a nod.

"It was only for a couple of days. It wasn't that bad," Jared says, resting his hand on Jensen's back. "Now, this over here is Katie, and that's Sophia. Chad couldn't make it tonight."

Jensen smiles at the girls and doesn't mention that he's a bit relieved Chad isn't there. 

"Okay," Jared says once Jensen shook hands with the girls. "Bowling. Sophia prefers to bowl without the floating pins too, because she's boring, so I suggest teams. Me and Jensen and Gen against the three of you?"

Katie, Sophia and Misha agree with a shrug, and they all choose a ball while Sophia and Genevieve go off to get drinks and snacks for them.

Bowling with Jared's friends turns out to be a blast. Watching the balls sail through the air is awesome, and watching Misha bowl in a cloak and hat is one of the most hilarious sights Jensen has ever seen. Jared even gets Jensen to try out their version of bowling a few times with his help, Jared making sure Jensen's ball stays up in the air when Jensen can only make it float for a second or two. 

The longer the game goes, the more rambunctious Jared and Misha get, laughing loudly and gesturing around wildly while they talk, causing a bit of a ruckus. Jensen watches them, feeling a fond sort of amusement for Jared, when he knows just a few weeks ago he probably would have been annoyed.

He's happy to just watch, observe Jared and Jared's friends. They all seem nice and make an effort to include him, but Jensen actually finds himself enjoying sitting back and watching them interact. Jared and his friends have known each other since they were kids, and it shows. They know each other inside out and Jensen listens to more than a few hilarious stories about things Jared did as a kid.

"Hey," Katie says halfway through the game, sitting down next to Jensen. "Aren't you in Professor Beavers lecture? _American History of Witches and Wizards_?"

"Yes. You too?"

Katie nods. "Yeah. I grew up all over Europe, mostly, so they put me in that class. My knowledge of American history is kinda horrible," she says. "We should sit together next week. Most people in that lecture are idiots."

"Sure," Jensen agrees with a grin. "That'd be great."

"Having fun?" Jared asks when it's Katie's turn and she leaves Jensen's side. He throws an arm around Jensen's shoulder, sitting pressed close against him, and slowly strokes his fingers over the bare skin of Jensen's arm where the sleeve of his shirt ends.

"Yeah. Everyone's pretty nice," Jensen says. "I'm having fun."

"Good," Jared says, and leans in and sort of nuzzles Jensen's jaw, and Jensen feels completely puzzled by the sudden show of affection. 

"I'm a bit drunk," Jared murmurs, and yeah, that makes more sense.

"On what?" Jensen asks, instantly amused.

Jared laughs. "Misha turned my apple juice into, like, cider," he says, and rests his forehead against Jensen's temple. "You smell really nice, Jensen."

"Thank you," Jensen says, not sure what to reply.

"And you're awfully pretty," Jared adds. He holds out his hand in front of Jensen's face, curling it into a loose fist before opening it again. There's a daisy lying in the palm of is hand, pale pink, like the ones he rained down on them a few weeks earlier. 

"Here," he says. "For you."

"Thanks, Jared," Jensen says softly, taking the daisy. He twirls it around between his fingers, grinning, and Jared presses a sloppy kiss against his jaw.

"Are you flirting with him?" Misha asks, appearing in front of them with a frown on his face. Jensen grins, even though he feels his cheeks grow hot, because it sure felt like Jared _was_ being flirty and if his friends even notice it must mean something. "Really, Jared? I give you a bit to drink and you go hit on the guy of my dreams?"

Jared laughs. "Misha," he says. "You just met Jensen. He was mine first."

"Did you lay claim to him?" Misha asks seriously.

"Yes," Jared says. "Right, Jensen? I totally did."

"Sure," Jensen agrees, because Jared sounds hopeful and sincere and while Jensen is pretty sure Misha still thinks he's a maiden that needs to be wooed and should feel insulted, there are worse things than having Jared stake his claim. "He made it rain flowers for me and gave me a stuffed puppy."

"You killed a puppy for him?" Misha asks, cocking his head to the side and looking at Jared. "That's sick, Jared. Dragon. It should have been a dragon."

"It was a dragon-y puppy," Jared says quickly. Misha looks thoughtful, then nods.

"Fine. I will accept your courtship of Jensen," he says. "I'll go see if Genevieve or Katie want to sleep with me tonight then."

Jared honest to god giggles, sounding like a kid, as they watch Misha walk away and presses a kiss to Jensen's temple. "How about you?" he murmurs. "You accept my courtship?"

"I didn't know I was being courted."

"I didn't know I was courting you either," Jared replies seriously, nodding. "But now it makes total sense."

"What makes sense?"

"This," Jared says, gesturing between them. "And, like, why I kinda wanted to kill that dude that was hitting on you at that party. Remember?"

Jensen feels his stomach flutter a little, maybe, and he grins. "We can talk about this tomorrow morning, when you're sober."

"Okay," Jared agrees easily. He kisses the corner of Jensen's mouth sweetly and doesn't move away from Jensen's side.

For the rest of the night he cheers loudly whenever it's Jensen's time to bowl, he keeps getting drinks for Jensen from the bar, and every time he bowls over a pin, he finds Jensen and demands a kiss. The first couple of times Jensen gets away with kisses on the cheek, but then Jared gets more insistent, prodding and begging.

"I knocked down all twenty pins," Jared says, crossing his arms over his chest. His words are a bit slurred, and there are bright red spots high on his cheeks. Jared's friends are watching them in amusement.

"There are only ten pins."

Jared ponders that, then leans in as if to share a secret. "I'm kinda seeing double," he says. "Like, there are one and a half Jensens standing in front of me right now."

"Yeah? How's that?"

"Pretty," Jared says, and touches Jensen's cheek. "Kiss?"

"Jared."

"I'm bowling awesomely. Drunk. Please?" Jared pleads.

"Come on, Jensen, give the poor boy a kiss. He's about to cry if you don't," Katie calls out.

Jensen ducks his head, and then quickly surges up, pressing his lips to Jared's for a split moment. 

"There," he says.

Jared licks his lips and beams. "Thank you," he says, pleased. 

Jensen is pretty sure his cheeks are red, and he shrugs awkwardly.

It's not exactly a hardship – Jared is gorgeous, all tall and built, but he's also drunk and their friendship is still so new that Jensen worries a bit. 

Jared's friends seem to be delighted by Jared's sudden interest in Jensen, though, catcalling and cheering them on, and by the end of the night Jared barely leaves Jensen's side. They walk home holding hands, and Jensen feels both nervous and excited, and before they go to bed he lets Jared pull him into one more soft, brief kiss.

+

"So, I might have made a fool out of myself last night," Jared says, sitting on the end of Jensen's bed with a mug of coffee. He's wearing boxers and a t-shirt, and Jensen half wonders if he went out like that to get coffee.

"Huh?"

Jared hands him the mug. "Last night. I was kinda acting stupid," he clarifies.

"Shouldn't you be hungover?" Jensen mumbles, taking a sip of the coffee once he's sitting up, sheets pooled around his waist.

"Wizard," Jared says with a smile. "So. Talk to me. On a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you at me?"

"You were drunk," Jensen says with a shrug.

Jared nods. "Okay, surprisingly not mad then," he guesses. He rolls his lower lip between his teeth, looking thoughtful. "Okay, next question. On a scale of one to ten, how okay were you with the kissing thing?"

"We barely kissed, really," Jensen hedges.

"You're not making this easy," Jared says with a sigh. "Fine, on a scale of one to ten, if I said I think you're cute and gorgeous and I kinda have a crush on you, how okay would you be with us kissing again?"

Jensen sets the mug down in his lap, keeping his hands securely around it, and gapes. "You have a crush on me?" he asks.

Jared snaps his finger. "Jensen, focus. Kissing – yes or no?"

"Yes," Jensen says, then flushes. "I mean, if you wanna. If you like me like that."

"I just said I had a crush on you," Jared replies. "You're adorably slow sometimes."

Jensen shrugs, looks down. "It's kinda a surprise, is all," he says.

"See, yeah, that's what I thought. But I called Genevieve while getting coffee, and she said the flowers and the puppy and the fireflies kinda should have clued us in," Jared says. "Or, you know, the fact that I've been apparently acting like I wanna rip apart everyone who hits on you. I think maybe she has a point."

"Yeah," Jensen says, plucking at his sheets. "So, you like me."

"And you like me. I hope?"

"Yes," Jensen confirms. "What now?"

"Now I'm going to kiss you," Jared says firmly.

Jensen feels his stomach clench nervously. "I haven't brushed my teeth yet," he says. "I'm pretty sure I have morning breath. And I probably look horrible because my hair is always a mess in the morning."

"Jensen," Jared says fondly. "Shut up."

He leans in before Jensen can reply and covers Jensen's lips with his. Jared's lips are soft and warm, and Jensen tilts his head up and lets Jared kiss him, not sure what to do. The only times Jensen had been kissed before were sloppy, uncoordinated first tries during party games, but never like this. Never by someone he liked, and certainly never by another guy. Jensen hopes that whatever he's doing, he's not absolutely horrible.

He clenches his hands around the still mostly full mug of coffee in his lap, and parts his lips when Jared runs his tongue over them. Jared licks his way into Jensen's mouth, slow and almost tentatively, like he's worried he's going to scare Jensen off, and then pulls away with a few lingering pecks against Jensen's lips.

"Okay?" he asks, and Jensen nods, a bit dazed.

Jared grins at him. "Good," he says. 

"For you too?" Jensen asks, biting down on his lower lip.

"Very," Jared replies with a nod, and Jensen smiles widely, pleased by Jared's answer.

"So, hey, wanna get up? I thought maybe I could take you out, if you wanted to," Jared says, tapping his fingers against Jensen's leg through the sheets. "There's a peddler's market nearby today and I thought we could go."

"A peddler's market? Isn't that a kinda weird place to go on a date," Jensen says, then quickly adds, "Or not a date. I mean, I can't think of friends who've gone to a peddler's market together either. I've never been to a peddler's market with friends. Or roommates...but well, you're my first roommate ever, so what do I know. Maybe that's something roommates do?"

"Jensen," Jared says softly. "It _is_ a weird place for a _date_ , but I promise you you'll like it. They sell magic stuff there and I thought you might be into that."

"There's a peddler's market for magical things?" Jensen asks, surprised.

"Yeah. They have some pretty cool stuff there," Jared says. "So, you wanna go?"

"Yes."

"On a date," Jared adds.

Jensen nods. "Still very much yes," he replies, meeting Jared's gaze and smiling. 

Jared leans in and kisses him softly, murmurs, "Awesome."

+

Holding Jared's hand while strolling past the booths, Jensen feels both pleased and excited by the people who look at them with smiles. Nobody has said anything mean or spiteful, and Jensen thinks it's probably because they're mostly among witches and wizards. He doubts he could walk down the streets holding hands with Jared without anyone insulting them back home in Texas.

The market itself is almost as amazing as holding Jared's hand. Jensen gawks and stares, and then blushes when people look at him curiously. There are very few people at the peddler's market who aren't witches and wizards – Jared told him they keep the location a secret, because there are some things sold at the market that shouldn't fall into the hands of people who can't do magic, and they're very strict about checking IDs to make sure buyers are witches and wizards.

There's a booth that sells pets, and Jensen watches, entranced, the little bird that chirps actual symphonies and the cat that changes color. There's a fish that leaves a sparkling trace in the water and when it moves quickly it's like it's drawing a picture with its little fin.

"I didn't know animals like that existed," Jensen says, awed, tapping his finger against the aquarium. "I've never seen anything like that back home."

"I can't believe you really grew up in a town without a single witch or wizard," Jared replies.

Jensen shrugs. "It was a small town," he says. 

"I just think it's sad that anyone would grow up without witchcraft, regardless of whether you're a witch or wizard or not."

"It's not like I really knew what I was missing," Jensen says. "I guess I was curious about it, but people always told us kids all those stories about magic that were kinda scary. They made it sound like magic was bad. I always thought it was. Wasn't until I realized I could do magic that I started to really think about it, you know?"

"There's nothing wrong or bad about this," Jared says, gesturing around them.

Jensen smiles and nods. "I know. But a lot of people don't know that. It scares them, so they're weary of it," he says.

"Well, I think magic is beautiful," Jared says, taking Jensen's hand in his. "The thought of living without it is so – _bleak_."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees. "But not if you don't know better. I never knew what was really out there until I actually started trying to find out about it. About who I am."

"I'm glad you did," Jared says, and he gives Jensen's hand a squeeze. "You wouldn't be here now if you hadn't."

"I'm glad, too," Jensen replies. He hesitates before leaning up and kissing Jared quickly, just a dry press of lips against lips before he pulls away.

+

They wander the flea market for a few more hours. Jared buys them a pair of bracelets that are supposed to be good luck charms, and Jensen buys a few books and a flower that blooms in a different color every day.

Jared gets them drinks at a booth that he swears Jensen has to try. The drink is a violent green, but it's creamy and fruity and Jensen thinks there's a hint of something that reminds him of coffee, and with each sip it's like tiny little explosions go off in his mouth that slowly slide down his throat and settle in his stomach. It reminds Jensen a bit of sherbet. 

He presses his hand against his belly when he's done, laughing softly while feeling the tingling feeling inside.

"This is weird," he says, amused. "Cool, but weird."

"We drank that all the time when we were kids," Jared says.

"I bet," Jensen says, leaning a bit into Jared. "Your childhood sounds so much more interesting than mine."

Jared shrugs. "It was just my childhood," he says, leading them away from the market, in the direction of the campus.

"Still," Jensen insists. "Tell me a story about it. Anything."

Jared makes a humming sound, looking thoughtful, and then lights up. "My grandparents lived outside the city, pretty remote. And whenever we visited during the summer, we'd sleep outside on this huge mattress that my grandpa made float, like, six feet in the air or something."

"Was that safe?" Jensen asks.

Jared shrugs. "Sure. He was one of the best wizards in the country, there wasn't a thing he couldn't do. He made sure we wouldn't be able to fall off or anything," he explains. "Anyway, instead of reading us bedtime stories, he'd tell us stories about his childhood, sometimes about fun stuff and sometimes about how bad things were for witches and wizards back them. He was an amazing guy."

"He passed away?"

"A few years ago, yeah," Jared says with a nod.

Jensen shifts a bit closer. "I'm sorry, Jared."

"It's okay," Jared says. "I have a lot of good memories of him and he had a good life."

"So I didn't just totally ruin the mood?"

Jared looks at him and smiles. "I started talking about him," he says. "And I don't mind."

"Good. I – I don't want to accidentally screw up this date."

"You couldn't," Jared assures him. "It's by far the best date I've ever been on."

"Yeah?" Jensen asks, slowing down and pulling Jared closer. He tilts his head up, looking up into Jared's eyes that he can never tell if they're more brown or more green. It's like they change depending on Jared's mood, and Jensen wonders if that's a magical thing too. 

Jared looks down at him with a smile and traces the tip of his finger down Jensen's jaw. "What?" he asks, brows drawn together quizzically.

"I really wanna kiss you right now," Jensen says.

Jared laughs, and leans down and kisses Jensen.

+

On Wednesday, Jensen is in the library between classes. He has a couple of hours to kill, and since he's been spending more time with Jared and less in the enchanted book section, he finds himself missing it.

He sits down on the floor, right next to a book shelf, and gets out his notes for Kripke's _Potion for Beginners_ , deciding he might as well get some studying done before a book chooses him. He doesn't get far – a mere five minutes after he sits down, a feels a book settle at his feet and he looks up with excitement. He recognizes _The Tale of the Wizard and the Dragon_ instantly, and smiles, reaching for the book.

Jensen opens the thick leather-cover with the same reverence he felt the first time he read the story, and he gets lost in the tale, in the letters appearing on the pages. He's so absorbed in reading that he startles when a daisy sails into his lap out of thin air.

Looking up, he spots Jared leaning against one of the bookshelves, watching him with a grin.

"What's with you and daisies?" Jensen asks, picking the flower up.

"They remind me of you," Jared says with a simple shrug, before coming to sit down next to Jensen. "What are you doing?"

"Reading," Jensen says, and Jared rolls his eyes.

"Well, yeah, obviously," he replies. He lefts up the book, peering at the cover. " _The Tale of the Wizard and the Dragon_?"

Jensen shrugs. "I like it," he says, looking back down at the book. "It's a nice story."

"I remember my grandma reading the story to me when I was a kid. It's an old folktale." Jared folds his legs under him, sitting pressed against Jensen's side. "Mind if I read with you?"

"No," Jensen says and shakes his head softly, smiling. "Wanna start from the beginning?"

"Nah, I know the story pretty well," Jared says. "Where are you?"

"The wizard just made it up to the mountain," Jensen says.

"Read it to me?" Jared asks, resting his head on Jensen's shoulder. 

Jensen laughs, but then he starts reading the story to Jared. At first, he wonders if Jared is just indulging him, but Jared seems genuinely interested. He makes a soft noise of approval when the wizard decides not to kill the dragon, and absently strokes Jensen's arm when he gets to the part where the wizard goes to talk to the girl he likes back in town, and a couple of times he makes Jensen pause to look at the drawings before turning to the next page. Sometimes, he interrupts Jensen to add things that aren't written on the pages – or at least not in today's version of it – things he remembers from how his grandma told him the story.

"And they lived happily ever after," Jared says when Jensen reads the last word.

Jensen smiles. "Yeah. I hope they did," he agrees, closing the book. Jared sits up straight and kisses his cheek sweetly.

"Hey, how does it work, this book? There are different things written in the story each time I read it," Jensen asks after a moment.

"It's a spell. It's a bit complicated, because you have to have all the different versions of a story before you can add them together in one book, like a collection of all the different editions. They only do it with some stories, though, folktales and stuff," Jared explains with a shrug. "They're special editions. We have a couple like these at home."

"It's really cool," Jensen says, tracing the leather. "It's my favorite book here."

Jared smiles at him. "I'll bring you home with me one day and you can read those other stories," he says. "I think you'd like them."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Jensen agrees. He nudges Jared's foot with his, the sole of his worn sneakers making a squeaky sound as he drags it across the floor. "Hey, how'd you know I was here anyway?"

"Spell," Jared says with a grin.

"Oh. So you could find me anywhere, anytime?" Jensen asks.

"Yes," Jared says. "Makes cheating pretty hard, huh?"

"And stalking really easy," Jensen says.

"Well, to be fair, there are spells that help you hide yourself," Jared says. "And it's generally frowned upon if you use spells like that to keep track of another person. I only used it because I knew you had some time off before your next class and I wanted to hang out with you."

"I don't mind," Jensen says, and smiles at Jared. For a moment they just sit in comfortable silence, until a book suddenly plops down between them.

"Oh, that must be for you," Jensen says, eagerly watching Jared pick it up and look at the cover.

Jared huffs. "Hilarious," he says.

"What is it?" Jensen asks, peering at the title. "Jared? Is that, like, a magical kama sutra?"

Jared smirks. "It's more like a cross between a _Sex for Dummies_ and erotica, wizard and witches style. Some of the illustrations are animated. There are noises too. It's all very educational," he says with a wink. "You probably don't wanna open this – it was kinda scandalous when it was published a few years ago, even in our world. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be here, in a college library. Probably some prank by some student who put an enchantment spell on it and put it here."

"Okay," Jensen says, looking at the book suspiciously.

"Not like I need a book that teaches you how to have awesome sex," Jared boasts, nudging him.

"Maybe it was meant for me then," Jensen mutters darkly.

Jared snorts and leans in, kissing the corner of his mouth. "No way. You don't need books like that – it's what I'm here for."

"Right, I remember. You think it's really hot that I'm a virgin," Jensen replies slyly, and Jared's eyes widen.

"Look at you, teasing me about something related to sex," he says.

Jensen elbows him. "I'm not completely straight-laced," he complains.

"So I'm not corrupting you?" Jared asks.

Jensen shrugs. "Maybe just a little," he says. "Or you will, eventually. I hope."

Jared grins, taking Jensen's chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissing Jensen soundly. "You bet your cute ass I will," he says, and Jensen grins.

"Okay, good," he says, ducking his head. "Wanna read another story? I have a bit more time."

Jared nods and gets up. "I'll choose one for us," he says, and walks along the shelve, eyes skimming titles until he pulls one out and comes to sit with Jensen again.

+

When Jensen stumbles out of bed on Friday morning his plant from the peddler's market is neon yellow. He squints at it and actually has to laugh a bit, even though he's barley awake. It's the ugliest plant in the world and Jensen really fucking loves it.

He gets dressed silently, trying not to wake Jared who is still sound asleep, snoring softly, because it seems Jensen is the only person in the world who has early classes every single day.

On his way out, Jensen steals one of Jared's hoodies, figuring he has a right to do these kinds of things now, and trudges to class.

 _Modern Witchcraft_ is pretty uneventful, and Jensen almost falls asleep a couple of times, and then there's a surprise pop quiz in _Plants and Minerals 101_. It's not exactly a good start into the day, but Jensen is pretty sure he did okay on the quiz and it's the weekend soon, so Jensen has a hard time not feeling cheerful. The final two classes of the day pass a lot quicker once Jensen starts thinking about all of the things he and Jared could be doing over the next couple of days.

He wonders if Jared has any plans, and then on a whim he decides to go to the store on campus to get snacks in case he can talk Jared into staying in and watching a movie with him that night.

He's standing in line at the check-out, skimming the magazine rack to pass the time while the student paying for an apple and a can of coke counts out the money in change, when a magazine catches his eye. He's pretty sure it's for girls, considering the bright pink font and the promise of a new fall collection and make-up tips written on the cover. What pikes his interest is the little blurt in the bottom corner – _'10 magical tips to please your boyfriend,'_ it says. Jensen feels his face heat up as he grabs the magazine, and tries to act casual when he adds it to his small pile of groceries.

Back in their dorm, Jensen drops the groceries onto his desk and grabs the magazine, glad Jared isn't back from classes yet. 

He settles onto his bed, and flips through the glossy pages. The articles are ridiculous – there's one debating whether or not relationships between a witch and an average guy can work, and another discussing the merits of a spell for a tan versus spray tan and tanning beds. The article on 'pleasing your boyfriend' probably isn't any less ridiculous, but Jensen reads it anyway. He skips the short intro, and goes straight to the list of ten ways that are supposed to improve your sex life.

There's a recipe for a potion that makes you smell attractively. Jensen wonders how one smells attractively, and if deodorant and regular showers don't just work fine for these kinda things.

The next tip is titled 'Be imaginative!', advising to try things out to find out what you and your partner enjoy. It goes a bit into detail, and the examples make Jensen flush. He's pretty sure he could have figured out that Jared might enjoy anal sex, thank you very much.

There's a spell that's supposed to do wonders for hair removal and Jensen frowns, hoping that's one of the tips that really just apply to witches. 

He skims the rest of the advice, and it only helps to make him feel more frustrated. Partly because it's addressing women and Jensen has no use for half of the tips, but mostly because the whole thing is completely unhelpful. Jensen isn't trying to figure out how to improve his sex life and make it explosive, but how to not completely _suck_ once he and Jared get around to having sex. 

When the last tip tells him to try out the new line of underwear, with a new and improved spell on it that makes you have curves in all the right places, Jensen throws the magazine down in disgust. 

He guesses he's just going to have to rely on good old instincts and hope for the best. At least, he thinks, Jared knows what to do, so maybe Jensen can get away with letting Jared take charge. At the same time, Jared's experience scares him a little. It'd be different if Jared wasn't a wizard, because then Jensen thinks he'd more or less know what was expected. Jared has been with witches and wizards, and Jensen has no idea if sex between them is different and what if Jared expects things Jensen doesn't even know about, much less how to do them? What if there are spells or potions or some kind of other magical tricks that makes sex completely mind-blowing and when Jared has sex with Jensen – completely normal, magic-free sex – he'll be disappointed?

Jensen groans and flops down on his bed. He glares at the magazine and then decides to hide it in his nightstand. 

"Thanks for nothing," he says while closing the drawer a bit too forcefully.

He feels a bit better when Jared comes home, and after getting some food they spend their night watching movies and cuddling. Jared makes happy noises when Jensen starts playing with his hair, bodies curled snuggly together. 

At least, Jensen thinks, he can cuddle like a pro.

+

They meet up with Katie and Genevieve for lunch the next day, because they both apparently have taken a shining to Jensen and keep pestering Jared about hanging out with them. Jensen doesn't mind, because it can only mean good things when your boyfriend's friends like you. Plus, Jensen is pretty sure Jared will eventually get sick of him if he remains a social hermit forever.

"Misha wants to take a trip to his parents' cabin next weekend," Katie says, looking pointedly at Jared. "No backing out this time, mister."

"I didn't back out last time. I was sick."

"There are spells to help with a cold, Jared," Genevieve chimes in.

Jared huffs. "It's probably better for your system to let it deal with illnesses on it's own instead of using a spell for everything," he says.

"Oh really? I'll remind you of that the next time you're sick and it's not convenient," Katie says, throwing a crumb from her muffin at Jared, before turning to Jensen. "You're coming too, right?"

"Sure. If I'm invited, I mean," Jensen replies. "Did Misha say it was okay for me to come?"

Katie waves him off. "He didn't have to. Misha loves you," she says. "Plus, he just suggested the trip. It's not like he's in charge of it."

"You know, all of those trips always end with some kind of disaster," Jared says. "Remember a couple of years ago, the bears?"

"Bears?" Jensen asks, a bit worried.

"We accidentally cast a spell that attracted bears for miles around instead of making it snow," Jared explains.

"It was nothing. We were safe in the cabin and we just cast a spell to reverse the whole thing," Genevieve replies casually, then frowns. "Well, once we were sober enough to remember the correct spell anyway."

"Great," Jensen says faintly.

"I'll keep you safe," Jared promises.

"It'll probably be less rowdy this year anyway," Genevieve says. "Misha is always responsible for the drinks and he likes to keep them coming and that's when things go out of hand. But I think this year he's going to be a bit distracted."

She turns to Katie while saying that, winking.

"So you're back on, huh?" Jared asks.

"Some weekends we are, some weekends we aren't," Katie replies with an easy shrug. "Weird as Misha can be, he sure knows his stuff when it comes to sex."

"Oh yes," Genevieve agrees a bit dreamily. "He does."

Jensen frowns. "Uh, are you both sleeping with Misha?" he asks carefully.

"Not at the same time," Genevieve replies. "But hey, I'd be open for that. Misha would sure go for it. What do you say, Katie?"

Katie grins. "Mmm, if you bring that cute TA of yours you're sleeping with."

"I think I might actually stop doing that. He's getting clingy," Genevieve replies with an eye-roll.

Jensen feels a bit uncomfortable, listening to them. Not that he cares if Genevieve and Katie have active sex-lives – he's not a prude, no matter what Jared says – but he's started to see why Jared said witches and wizards are a bit slutty. Or maybe it's just a college thing. But it's like everyone is sleeping with everyone, and it's completely normal, and listening to Katie and Genevieve talk, Jensen is starting to worry.

He pulls Jared aside after lunch, promising Katie and Genevieve to meet up with them in the courtyard for a game of frisbee with everyone else later, even though Jensen suspects it's not going to be a normal game of frisbee, because nothing here is ever normal.

"So, uh," he starts, linking his fingers with Jared as they walk back to their dormitory together. "Misha is seeing both Katie and Gen, huh?"

"Yeah. And this guy from one of his classes. Pretty sure he's also regularly having phone sex with this guy we met in Italy last year, but I try not to think about that too much. I walked in on them in our hotel room, so I'm scarred enough already."

"Right," Jensen says, and his voice comes out a bit choked.

"Why do you ask?" Jared asks, looking at him questioningly.

"Oh nothing. It's just – is that normal? Sleeping with so many people at once?"

Jared shrugs. "It is for Misha. He doesn't like being tied down. Too many pretty people in the world, he says," he replies.

"What about everyone else? Do they have so many, uh, sex partners too?" Jensen presses.

"Some do, and some don't, I guess. Everyone's different and this is college, right? Don't they say that's the time to go wild and experiment and stuff? Not everyone wants to be tied down to someone at our age."

"What about you?" Jensen asks, looking down at the street.

"Are you asking me if we're exclusive?" 

Jensen shrugs. "Maybe. I mean – we should know these kinda things, right? To know what's expected."

"Jensen," Jared says. "I know you well enough to be 99% sure you wouldn't want to be in a relationship that wasn't monogamous and if I wasn't okay with that, I wouldn't have asked you out."

"But do you want us to be exclusive?" Jensen presses. "I don't want to hold you back if you wanna be more like Katie and Gen or something, and see other people."

"Okay, one, I don't wanna see other people," Jared says. "And two, if anyone, and I mean absolutely _anyone_ , touches you in ways only I am supposed to touch you, I'd probably go crazy and, I don't know, turn them into a frog."

"You know how to turn someone into a frog?"

"Yes," Jared says. "But I'd get into quite a lot of trouble for it, so I try to refrain from doing it."

"Okay," Jensen says.

"Listen, if _you_ think you don't wanna be in a relationship right now, then you should probably tell me now so we can end this before we're in too deep," Jared says, voice gentle. "I just...I don't do relationships half-assed, okay?"

"No, that's. That's good," Jensen says, giving Jared's hand a squeeze. "I don't want us to see anyone else and I definitely want us to see each other."

"Good," Jared says, and leans down to kiss the corner of Jensen's mouth. They're still walking, so the kiss is a bit clumsy, Jared's forehead knocking against his temple just this side of painful but it makes Jensen happy nonetheless.

+

Jensen is right about the game of frisbee being different from what he's used to. Turns out, the frisbee doesn't exactly want to be caught and it keeps making twists and turns and the others use spells to keep it in line.

Jensen, unsurprisingly, hopelessly sucks at the game and Jared spends most of the time trying to make sure Jensen doesn't get hit in the face by the frisbee. It's a close call a few times.

Danneel walks by them at one point with some friends, and Jensen waves at her and asks her if she wants to join in. She agrees happily, giving Jensen a tight hug in greeting, and introduces him to his friends.

A few more people join over the course of the next hour, and Jensen finds himself enjoying himself more than he thought he would in such a big group of people. It gets even more fun when Jared and Danneel manage to teach him a couple of easy spells that help him play, and the first time he manages to catch the frisbee, Jared beams proudly at him. He kisses Jensen, quick and sweet, and Danneel winks at him.

"Told you he likes you," she says.

Jensen shrugs and grins. "Yeah, guess you were right," he agrees happily.

+

Jensen is woken up when Jared crawls into his bed the next morning.

"Wha'?" he asks, brain groggy from sleep and twisting his head around while Jared spoons up against him.

"Shhh," Jared murmurs. "Sleep."

"Why are you in my bed?" Jensen asks sleepily.

"You looked cold," Jared murmurs.

Jensen blinks and yawns. "I'm not cold," he replies, smacking his lips together. 

"That's cause I'm here now. You warmed up, like, super quickly before you could even wake up," Jared says. He slides his arms around Jensen, fingers trailing over Jensen's bare stomach, and Jensen breathes in slowly. 

"Bullshit."

"Swear," Jared replies in a murmur, and starts dropping small kisses along Jensen's shoulder. "You were shivering. I had to do something to stop you from suffering like that."

"Jared," Jensen says, amused, and feels Jared grin against his shoulder.

"You can't prove I'm lying," he says, and keeps kissing Jensen's skin, moving lower slowly. It makes Jensen's stomach flutter with both nerves and excitement.

"You have freckles," Jared murmurs against his skin, and Jensen bites his lower lip. Jared's fingers keep skimming over the sensitive skin of his belly, before his hand slowly slides lower, palming Jensen's cock through his boxers.

"Jared," Jensen choked out.

Jared moves up, kisses his neck. "Do you want me to stop?" he asks, voice sincere, his hand slowly massaging Jensen's dick.

Jensen shakes his head quickly, and Jared breathes out against his skin.

"Good," he says. He gently nudges Jensen onto his back, one arm trapped under Jensen's head. Jensen feels his own stomach rise with each quick breath, arousal and want coursing through him. Jared looks down at him with a soft smile and then he kisses Jensen and slides his hand down his boxer-brief.

Jensen gasps against Jared's mouth, hips shooting up. Jared's hand is warm and big, and he wraps it firmly around Jensen's length and starts stroking him. It feels surprisingly different than when Jensen jerks off himself – better, and more exciting. Jensen rocks up into his hand, holding onto Jared's shoulders while they kiss. All too soon he comes, spilling all over Jared's hand.

"Sorry," he mutters, still coming down from the orgasm, when Jared wipes his stick hand on the sheets. 

"What?" Jared asks with a laugh. "I wanted that to happen."

"I came in, like, three seconds," Jensen mumbles.

"And I'm really flattered," Jared replies, sincere, and tugs Jensen closer against him. "You have no idea how fucking hot you are, Jensen."

Jensen buries his face in the crook of Jared's neck, breathes him in, sweat and sleep and Jared. "I don't wanna disappoint you," he admits.

Jared strokes the tips of his fingers down Jensen's spine. "You couldn't," he says, and kisses Jensen's temple.

"Okay," Jensen replies, and then freezes, horrified. "Oh god. I should be returning the favor instead of _talking_. See, I'm absolutely horrible at this."

Jared laughs, and hugs Jensen close. "It's fine. Don't worry."

"No," Jensen says, determined, and pushes away from Jared. "I want to, okay?"

Jared smiles at him and nods, flopping down onto his back and waving at his body. "Okay. Have at it," he says.

Jensen looks down Jared's body, stopping at the obvious bulge of Jared's hard cock under the sheets, and swallows. "Okay," he says, slowly. "How do you want me--"

"Kissing is always a good start," Jared interrupts, smiling, and beckons Jensen to move closer.

Jensen nods, settling his hand carefully on Jared's chest. "Kissing I can do," he says.

Turns out, Jensen isn't horrible at jerking another guy off and Jared seems pretty happy, judging by the way he starts pawing Jensen again not thirty minutes after their first orgasms. Jensen is more than happy to go with it.

+

"Misha called. We're leaving in forty-five minutes."

Jensen startles, blinking suds out of his eyes, and turns around, trying to make out Jared's form through the milky glass of the shower door.

"Jared?" he calls.

"Who else?" Jared replies. 

Jensen frowns, and listens to the sounds Jared is making. "Are you peeing while I'm taking a shower?" he asks.

"Yes."

"Really?" Jensen asks, standing under the spray of hot water. There's no showerhead, the water falling down from overhead out of thin air at the perfect temperature. "Are you sure we're at the point in our relationship where it's okay to use the bathroom at the same time?"

"You're in the shower. We can't even see each other," Jared counters, before flushing the toilet.

"I'm really not convinced that makes it better," Jensen replies. "I just heard you _pee_."

"You've touched my dick. How is this worse?"

"Cause there was no peeing involved?" Jensen replies, questioningly. "I'm pretty sure boyfriends are not supposed to do that in front of each other. It's a thing."

"So pee is not okay, but come is totally fine? I mean, I came all over your _hand_ several times since last Sunday. And on your stomach and your hips. And last night I came on your _ass_ , gorgeous – which, by the way, I think is gonna be my number one jerking off fantasy for the next few months," Jared says. "Have I told you thank you for all the amazing orgasms in the last week? Because, really, thank you."

Jensen covers his eyes with his hands and groans. "Shut up."

"I love how you like having sex with me, but you can't talk about it," Jared says, and Jensen yelps when he pulls the shower partition aside. "You're cute."

"And naked! In the shower!" Jensen replies, trying to shield himself even though he knows it's stupid. 

Jared grins. "I've seen your dick before. Plenty of times in the last week, in fact."

"That's different. That was in bed and there were sheets and the intention was different," Jensen argues, trying to shut the shower door again. "Now you're just trying to gawk at me."

"What can I say, you're a very nice sight," Jared replies. He ignores Jensen's protests, stepping into the shower with him.

"Jared," Jensen says. "Can't you wait until I'm done in a couple of minutes?"

"We're in a hurry, remember? I'm trying to save some time," Jared replies, settling his hands on Jensen's sides and sliding down naked, wet skin.

"This is not saving us any time," Jensen mutters.

"Shh, no more talking. We're gonna be late if you keep arguing with me," Jared murmurs, ducking down and covering Jensen's lips with his. 

Jensen's attempt to pull away is feeble at best, and soon he wraps his arms around Jared's waist, getting up on his tiptoes to kiss Jared back. He can feel Jared's cock against his stomach, his own pressing against Jared's leg, still soft, but Jensen can tell that's about to change.

When they pull apart, Jared looks a bit dazed.

"Oh fuck being on time," he growls, and backs Jensen up against the wall. Jensen groans and tilts his head up, arching up to meet Jared's lips in another kiss.

By the time they make it to the parking lot, where Jared's friends are waiting with smirks, they're half an hour late. While Jensen apologizes embarrassedly, Jared just grins and holds Jensen's hand.

+

Jensen bends down to pick up a twig. The pile he'd been carrying in his arms comes tumbling to the ground and Jensen curses. He wishes he was back in the cabin with everyone else, but they drew lots so he and Katie are on firewood-duty. Jensen is pretty sure the whole thing was rigged by Chad, the asshole, because there's no way it's a coincidence the two people he doesn't like lost.

"Why can't there be a spell to gather wood?" he asks.

Katie snorts. "There probably is. But what's the fun in using magic for everything?" she asks.

Jensen kneels down and starts picking up the twigs and small branches again, carefully balancing them in his arms. "It sounds like more fun than this."

"I'll be worth it," Katie says. "I love bonefires."

"I'm still not sure we won't end up burning the whole forest down. Magic or not," Jensen says, getting back up carefully. The pile in his arms wobbles a little, but doesn't fall.

"We've done this plenty of times. It's safe," Katie assures him. "And Misha makes these awesome firecrackers we always throw in. It's really beautiful – and romantic. I'm sure you'll appreciate that."

"Why?" Jensen asks, squinting against the sun to look at Katie.

"You're dating Jared, so I assume you like romance. He's always been a bit of a sap."

Jensen looks down and smiles to himself, thinking about the fireflies and the flowers. "Yeah, I guess he is," he agrees.

"God, look at you," Katie says. "You're totally smitten."

Jensen blushes and shrugs.

"It's cute," Katie adds. "Jared's pretty crazy about you, you know."

"Yeah?" 

"Definitely," Katie says, nodding. "You're lucky to have a guy like that who absolutely adores you. Plus, I have it on good authority that he's good in bed, so go team you!"

"Have you and he--?" Jensen asks, surprised. He prays the answer is no. Jared's had boyfriends and girlfriends, and Jensen knows that, but he would prefer none of them to be one of Jared's close friends.

"Nah. He's like a brother to me," Katie says with a laugh. "But you can't be friends with a guy for most of your life without talking about his sex life at one point or another. I mean, we all had our fair share of flings in Europe last year, and we were basically living on top of each other during that time. It's hard not to see and hear a few things you don't want to. Plus, in some European countries people are a bit more chatty about sex, so I heard things about him last summer and everyone's always been nothing but complimentary of Jared."

Jensen shrugs awkwardly. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't know. We haven't gone that far yet," he says. "I mean we've done stuff, but not all the way."

"You've only been going out for a few weeks," Katie says, and there's not a hint of teasing in her voice like Jensen expected. "But hey, believe me, from what I heard you won't have any complaints."

"It's not like I'd know if it wasn't good anyway. I've never, you know," Jensen confides. He watches Katie pick up another branch.

"Never?" she asks.

Jensen shakes his head.

"Oh. Well, doesn't change what I said, does it?" Katie asks.

"Guess not," Jensen replies. "I'm a bit worried _he'll_ have complaints though. He's so much more experienced and what if I suck? I mean I really don't know what I'm doing."

"He knows you're a virgin, right?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not like he'll expect you to know everything. Don't worry about it," Katie advises. "Knowing Jared, he's gonna be more worried about you enjoying yourself and making it good for you."

"But I wanna make it good for him, too," Jensen says. "I feel like he's been doing so much for me, helping me with classes and stuff. I don't want this be another thing where Jared gives and doesn't get anything back."

"Jensen," Katie says. "He really likes you, and from what I can tell from looking at the two of you and hearing Jared talk about you, he's really happy with you. There is absolutely nothing about this relationship that's one-sided. And sex isn't what makes or breaks a relationship."

Jensen snorts. "Really? Cause you all seem very into it," he comments.

Katie laughs. "Well, yeah. But that's sex for the sake of sex. There's more to relationships than that. For one, there's love," she says. "And I think you and Jared can teach the rest of us a thing or two about that."

"It's only been a few weeks," Jensen says.

"And yet, I think you're both well on your way to falling for each other."

"Yeah. Maybe," Jensen agrees.

"Then there's no way you won't make Jared happy. In bed, too," Katie says with a resolute nod. "You two have something special. And if the sex isn't mind-blowing from the first day on, then there are always a few tricks here and there."

"Like?" Jensen asks, thinking back to the very unhelpful magazine. 

Katie looks at him, grinning, and then sets her pile of firewood onto the floor. She flops down next to it and pats the place next to her. "Sit down, young wizard. I will teach you a thing or two."

Jensen blushes, but he sits down without hesitation.

+

Jared pops the last sweet chestnut into his mouth, throwing the husks into the fire. He slings his arm around Jensen's shoulder and pulls him in, kissing his cheek.

Jensen huddles close against his side, letting Jared's warmth soak into him.

"Good weekend?" Jared murmurs.

"Yes," Jensen answers. "I really like your friends."

"Our friends."

Jensen turns his head, nuzzling Jared's jaw, and smiles. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he says, thinking about the very educational chat he'd had with Katie earlier that day. Katie had told him everything he needed to know, according to her, to give a good blowjob and had a surprisingly vast amount of knowledge about Jared's erogenous zones. When they'd returned to the cabin, she'd winked at him conspiratorially and gone off to get them both a drink. Katie is definitely someone he could see himself being friends with, and Genevieve and Misha too. Sophia keeps feeding him cookies, so Jensen assumes she likes him too. Chad just doesn't seem to get warm with him, but the feeling is mutual, and Jensen figures four out of five isn't bad.

"Time for the firecrackers?" Jared asks loudly, and Jensen follows his gaze to see Misha come out of the cabin with a box.

Misha bobs his head up and down in a nod, and starts passing out small firecrackers. They look pretty regular, like those Jensen knows from new years and other holidays.

"What do these do?" Jensen asks Jared. Jared grins.

"Just watch," he says. 

Jensen turns back to the bonfire and watches Sophia toss the first firecracker in. There's a pang and sparkles and then a little fiery bird flies around the bonfire before sizzling out.

"Oh," Jensen says.

"You wanna go next?" Jared asks, and Jensen nods. He throws his firecracker into the flames, and laughs when a rabbit appears.

Jared wraps his arms around Jensen, pulling him against his chest, and kisses him right behind his ear. He passes his own firecracker on to Jensen, and when Jensen throws it into the fire, a sparkling band twirls around them, warm and bright, and Jensen follows it with his eyes, a huge smile on his face. They watch the others toss the firecrackers into the fire, wrapped up in each other.

+

Professor Gamble is watching him critically, before her eyes follow the movement of the feather fluttering through the air in a circle, rising back up before it can touch the ground.

When it finally settles into the palm of Jensen's hand, she nods and her lips lift up into a smile.

"You've improved greatly, Mr. Ackles," she says.

Jensen beams proudly. "Thank you, Professor," he says.

"It'll be interesting to see how you fare in a more advanced class next semester. I think you have great potential, if you keep up the good work," she says, giving Jensen another smile before moving on to the next student.

Jensen smiles, feeling a bit silly, but he can't stop himself. He brings the feather back up into the air, making it fly up and down, watching it happily.

As soon as the class lets out, he gathers his things and sets off in a jog. Jared has a class across the building from Jensen's, and Jensen reaches the classroom before the last students have trickled out.

"Jared," he calls, waving when he spots Jared, talking to a girl he's never seen. His shirt is red with black letters proclaiming, 'I like doing wicked things'. Remembering the blowjob Jared woke him up with this morning, Jensen can attest to that. Considering Jensen is starting to find out he's a big fan of having wicked things done to him, he thinks they're a pretty good match.

Jared lights up when he sees him, and Jensen doesn't slow down until he's reached him. Jared catches him around the waist, lifting him up easily, and gives Jensen a small kiss when his feet touch the ground again.

"Good mood, huh?"

"Fantastic," Jensen says, nodding. "And it'll get even better if you tell me you'll have lunch with me."

"Sure," Jared replies. "Any particular reason why you're in such a great mood?"

Jensen shrugs. "Just a good day. Professor Gamble was really happy with me today," he explains.

Jared beams. "Cause you have an amazing teacher," he boasts. "And I'm not talking about Professor Gamble."

Jensen glances around, the girl Jared was talking to has vanished and the hall is all but empty. He grins back up at Jared and leans in. "Guess I have to thank you later," he murmurs.

Jared's eyes grow wide before his lips split into a wide smirk. "I'm apparently teaching you many great things," he says. 

"Too bad nobody else is ever gonna find out how great a teacher you are."

"Nah, I think it's just fine if that's something that stays between me and you," Jared replies, and with his fingers pressing into Jensen's back, hands still firmly on his waist, his pulls him in and kisses him.

When Jensen pulls away from Jared, he clears his throat. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanna do something tonight?" he asks. "Katie mentioned something about hanging out, I think, but I was thinking maybe it could be just the two of us. You know, a date."

"Sounds good. Did you have anything in particular in mind?" Jared asks, catching Jensen around the hips and pulling him back close.

"We could go out for dinner, and maybe a movie," Jensen says, then adds a bit less confidently, "and then go back to our room. You know."

"You know?" Jared echoes, rising an eyebrow.

Jensen ducks his head, eyes fixed on Jared's chest. He smooths Jared's shirt out over his shoulders, fiddles with the sleeve of it, and shrugs. 

"I thought we could...," he starts, and lets the sentence hang unfinished in the air between them. He lifts his gaze, meeting Jared's eyes, and hopes Jared gets his point.

"Oh," Jared says, looking stumped before his lips stretch into a smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. If you wanna."

Jared pulls him into a kiss, slow and deliberate. He whispers, "Okay," against Jensen's lips, and keeps kissing him.

+

Jensen comes out of his _Modern Witchcraft_ class later that afternoon, still feeling like he's walking on a cloud, and almost runs into Genevieve. She grabs his arm and starts pulling him out of the building without so much as a hello and Jensen can't do anything but stumble along behind her.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

Genevieve looks at him, lower lip caught between her teeth. "Don't freak out, but Jared kinda got hurt."

"What?" Jensen asks, hurrying to keep up with her fast steps. "Hurt? How?"

"Just a broken arm," Genevieve says quickly. "It's not bad. A spell in one of his classes went wrong and hit him, but he's okay. It was a bit painful, but Morgan already fixed it and Jared's fine. He's resting."

"A spell hit him?" Jensen asks, voice loud. "How can a spell just _hit_ him?"

Genevieve frowns and shrugs. "I wasn't there, but Misha said the guy sitting next to Jared got startled by something and the spell kinda went haywire."

Jensen heart is beating almost painfully in his chest, stomach clenching, and he picks up his pace, the need to see Jared, to check on him himself, strong.

He bursts into his and Jared's room without knocking, causing Misha and Jared to startle before looking at him. 

"Hey, Jensen," Jared says, smiling. His skin is a bit pale and he looks exhausted, but Jensen feels his chest unclench because Jared is there and he looks fine. Genevieve touches his arm.

"I think we can leave Jared in your hands now," she says. "Come on, Misha."

"Are you okay?" Jensen asks once Misha and Genevieve have left, the door closing behind them. He goes sit down on the edge of the bed and pulls Jared into his arms. 

"I'm fine," Jared says, speaking against Jensen's neck. "Hurt like a bitch, but I'm okay now."

"Are you sure?" Jensen asks. He pulls back and cups Jared's face in his hands. "Did someone check you out?"

"Jeff did," Jared says. "It's fine. He's not the Dean for nothing Jensen, he's one of the best wizards in the world. Fixed me right up."

Jensen looks into Jared's face critically, but Jared looks okay. There's no trace of excruciating pain, at least. "Genevieve said you arm was broken," he says murmurs. 

"Yeah," Jared says, holding out his arm. He traces the soft skin of the inside of his arm. "Here."

Jensen peers down at Jared's arm, but he can't see anything. He reaches out and touches the skin softly, finding it warm and smooth, no sign of anything having been wrong. He exhales slowly.

"You're not even feeling _any_ pain anymore?" he asks.

"No," Jared assures him. "Just feel a bit wrung-out. It wasn't exactly one of the most pleasant experiences of my life."

"I bet," Jensen says. He wraps his arm around Jared's neck, pulling him in, and kisses first Jared's temple, then his cheek. Jared rests his head on Jensen's shoulder and sighs softly. Jensen holds him for a few silent moments, the feeling of Jared in his arms reassuring, before he coaxes Jared into lying back down.

"Get some rest," he says. "Want me to get anything for you? Something to drink? Food?"

Jared shakes his head, shifting to lie on his side and touches his fingers against Jensen's. "I'm good," he says, then adds in a softer voice, "I think I'm gonna have to take a rain check on tonight though."

"Of course. Jared, you were hurt," Jensen says. "We have time. Just sleep, get better, okay?"

"'kay," Jared agrees. "Just – stay?"

"I'm not planning on going anywhere, don't worry," Jensen says. He kicks his shoes off and crawls onto the bed with Jared, drawing him into his arms. He cards his hands through Jared's hair, presses his lips against Jared's forehead, and listens to the soft in and out of Jared breathing.

For once, he's doing something for Jared and it feels good to be the one doing the helping, no matter how much Jensen wishes Jared had never gotten hurt in the first place.

+

"What are you doing?" Jensen mumbles, blinking sleepily.

"Hmm. Just doodling," Jared replies, turning his head and kissing Jensen's temple before returning to tracing his fingers over Jensen's arm. "Good nap?"

"Yeah," Jensen replies around a yawn. It's dark outside by now and the only light in the room is Jensen's bedside lamp at the other side of the room. Jared's fingers leave traces on Jensen's skin that glow in the dark. At first its just lines and swirls, and then Jared starts writing. His own name appears in sloppy lines on Jensen's skin and Jensen laughs.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Writing my name onto my boyfriend," Jared replies. "What does it look like?"

Jensen chuckles and shifts, sliding his leg between Jared's and resting his head more comfortably on Jared's shoulder. "How is your arm?"

"Still fine," Jared replies. 

"Good," Jensen says. "You been awake for long?"

"A bit. Turns out I wasn't as tired as I thought. Just needed a quick nap to recharge."

"I didn't mean to trap you in bed while I was sleeping," Jensen says. "Sorry. I hope you weren't bored."

"Not at all," Jared says, shaking his head. "You make the most adorable, soft noise when you breathe out and sometimes you kinda twitch in your sleep and your nose scrunches up. And I counted your freckles, and started on your eyelashes, but that was kinda hard to do."

"Are making fun of me or are you really that creepy?"

"Really that creepy," Jared confirms without hesitation. "Having a boyfriend is pretty awesome, huh?"

"Totally," Jensen deadpans. He snuggles closer and sighs happily when Jared kisses his forehead. He falls back asleep to the feeling of Jared's fingers on his skin, pressed close against Jared, warm and content.

+

The following Friday, Jensen steps into their dorm and promptly stops.

After class, Jared texted him and asked him to run for the store for him to get him some juice. Jensen had been a bit puzzled, because Jared had a class much closer to the store on campus than he did. But he'd made a quick run to the store anyway, because he's been feeling a bit over-protective since Jared got hurt.

Now, Jensen knows he was completely right to feel confused by Jared's request.

Jared is standing by his bed with a small smile on his face, and their whole room has been transformed. Despite it still being light outside, the light in the room is dim, and there are at least two dozen candles hovering high in the air. There's soft music playing, smooth and melodic, and it seems to come from every corner of the room.

"Jared," Jensen says, stunned. He looks around the room slowly, then back at Jared. 

"Surprise," Jared says with a small grin.

"Wow," Jensen murmurs. "Is today some day special? Birthday? Anniversary of some kind?"

Jared smirks. "I could say something totally cheesy like, every day with you is special."

"Please don't," Jensen says, shaking his head, and Jared laughs.

"Then no," he says. "But since you're getting better and better at spells, I figured I should make the most of my magic before you stop being impressed by it."

Jensen grins and finally steps fully into the room. He drops his backpack and the bag from the store and goes to kiss Jared softly, his hands resting on Jared's hips.

"I think I'll always be impressed," he murmurs.

Jared hums and pulls him in, kissing him deeper, harder, his hand cupping Jensen's jaw. He shifts them around until Jensen feels the hard edge of Jared's bed against the back of his knees. He goes down easily, Jared never breaking the kiss as he guides Jensen down and crawls on top of him. Jensen's stomach flutters with excitement, and he runs his hands up Jared's sides, kissing him back with all he has.

"Jared," he murmurs.

Jared pulls back a little and looks down at him. Above them, the candles are flickering and bobbing up and down gently.

Jared touches Jensen's cheek. "You still wanna?" he asks.

Jensen nods, smiles when Jared does and lifts up to meet Jared's mouth in another kiss.

Jared takes things slow, undressing Jensen piece by piece while kissing him. He slides his fingertips over every inch of newly exposed skin, making Jensen's skin tingle.

When they're both naked, Jared sits back, looking down at Jensen with hooded eyes. They're both hard, and in the dim lights of the candles he looks so big, his skin so golden. Jensen never thought he had a type, but Jared makes every last cell of his body come alive, makes Jensen wants and crave and need. 

Jared runs his hands up Jensen's legs, his hips, and rearranges them until Jensen's legs are splayed open, Jared's knees nudged under his thigh.

"Okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," Jensen says, but he feels bit nervous.

Jared smiles softly at him, before leaning over to kiss him. The position lifts Jensen's legs up a little, brings their hips together, and Jensen moans, bucking up to get more friction on his dick. 

Jared strokes one hand up Jensen's sides to his chest; open palm warm and reassuring. He flicks his thumb over Jensen's nipple, rubbing small circles over it, and Jensen's breath hitches.

"Relax," Jared murmurs between the sounds of their lips sliding together wetly. He kisses Jensen's jaw, teeth nipping at skin playfully. 

"Trying," Jensen says breathlessly. He tries to inhale and exhale slowly, deliberately, to calm his racing heart and make the knot in his stomach unravel.

Jared cups his jaw. "I've got you, okay? I promise I'll make it good."

"I know you will," Jensen says, smiles. Jared meets his lips in a brief, sweet kiss before pulling back. He moves down Jensen's body, kisses and nips. Jensen moans when Jared licks over his nipple before sucking on it, tonguing over it and rolling it between his teeth. He repeats the same with the other nipple, and Jensen feels pleasure shooting right down to his dick. 

When Jared kisses further down Jensen's body he feels just the hint of stubble graze his skin, his cock trapped between the bodies. Jared's hands are at his hips, holding him down, and Jensen's attempts to rock up against him remain futile.

"Jared," he whimpers.

Jared murmurs something against Jensen's stomach he can't make, and swirls his tongue around Jensen's navel, dipping in.

Jensen is pretty sure he's going to come before Jared even gets to his dick if he keeps this up. He's completely forgotten about his nerves, feels loose and relaxed with pleasure now, and god, he wants Jared's mouth on him. 

He gets his wish moments later. Jared licks a broad stripe up his length and then sucks him into his mouth; hand firmly around the base of Jensen's dick as he lets him slide in deeper. Jensen startles when he suddenly feels the finger of Jared's free hand slip past his balls and nudge at his hole. It's slick and a little cold, and Jensen wonders fleetingly if Jared had the lube handily lying on the bed or if some kind of spell was involved. Before he can dwell on it Jared's finger presses in and all thoughts leave Jensen's head. He thrusts up, into Jared's mouth, more out of surprise then really wanting to get away from Jared's finger. When his hips settle down again Jared slides in impossibly deep.

"Oh god," Jensen groans, his voice getting high-pitched at the end when Jared crooks his finger inside of him.

Jared sucks him harder, takes him in deeper, and it feels pretty good even when Jared adds a second finger.

"You okay?" Jared asks, pulling of Jensen's cock and Jensen makes a protesting noise.

"Yeah," he says, wiggling his hips insistently. 

Jared laughs gruffly, and presses a kiss to Jensen's hip. His fingers move in and out of Jensen, twisting and scissoring, stretching him open, brushing against a place inside Jensen that makes him see stars. He's totally starting to see why people enjoy sex.

The third finger burns a little and Jensen feels stretched, filled to the point of being too much.

"Shh," Jared murmurs. "Just let me in. Breathe."

Jensen bites down on his lower lip, nods, and it starts to feel better. Jared is kissing and nuzzling his belly, chin grazing his cock, and keeps fingering Jensen slowly, carefully.

He pulls out with a final kiss to Jensen's stomach.

"It's easier when you're on your hands and knees," Jared says softly, stroking his side.

Jensen wants to protest for a moment, but then he nods and turns around, his cock hanging heavily between his legs.

There's a wrinkle of a condom wrapper being ripped open, the noise of Jared shifting. He presses a soft kiss to the base of Jensen's spine, one hand settling on Jensen's hip. Then there's the blunt pressure of Jared's cock against his hole and Jared starts pushing in.

It hurts way more than Jared's fingers did, the burn sharp, and Jensen tenses.

"Shh. Shh," Jared hushes. "Relax, Jensen. It won't hurt for long, I promise."

He presses into Jensen with small rolls of his hips until he's fully sheathed, so huge and hard inside of Jensen, and Jensen tries to breathe through it. He feels his cock going soft between his legs, the stretch too much to still be pleasurable.

Jared leans over his, kissing the back of his neck. "Tell me when I can move," he says, voice thick.

Jensen sucks in a breath and nods, and he slowly feels the pain ebb away, feels his body relax little by little.

"Okay," he says, moving his hips back experimentally. He hears Jared gasp, and he starts moving slowly, sliding in and out with long, smooth thrusts. His hand reaches around Jensen, wrapping around his cock. He strokes Jensen in rhythm with the push in and out of Jensen, coaxing him back to hardness. When his dick presses against Jensen's prostate, Jensen moans, and fuck, that's good. That's actually amazing.

Jared fucks him harder, faster, and then he suddenly sits back, pulling Jensen with him onto his lap. It makes Jared slide in deeper, and Jensen gasps, pretty sure his eyes are rolling back in his head with pleasure. He writhes on Jared's lap, legs splayed over Jared's thighs.

"That's it. You feel so amazing, Jensen," Jared grunts, mouthing along Jensen's neck. One hand on Jensen's stomach and one on his hips, and he's grinding up into Jensen with small, hard snaps of his hips.

Jensen comes with a cry, spurting hot, sticky come all over his stomach and Jared's hands. He slumps against Jared, hands curled around Jared's arms, holding on tightly while Jared thrusts up a handful of times before he tenses.

He lets Jared manhandle his spent body until they're lying pressed together, Jensen's head pillowed on Jared's arm, dozing. Jared is stroking Jensen's side lazily, and Jensen is running his fingers up and down Jared's arm absently, feeling relaxed and happy, and worn-out.

Jared kisses the corner of Jensen's mouth, and Jensen turns his head, sloppily meeting Jared's lips in a soft kiss.

"Okay?" Jared murmurs.

"Yeah," Jensen replies in a whisper. He shifts, feeling a dull pain in his ass, and sighs, moving closer to Jared. "You?"

Jared laughs softly. "More than okay," he says, meeting Jensen's lips in another kiss.

The candles are still dancing around in the air, and Jensen rests against Jared's side and watches them. 

"Igniculus," Jared murmurs, and above them small sparks fly in the air, bright and making soft popping sounds. Jensen laughs, and Jared presses his lips against Jensen's temple, chuckling softly, and slides their legs together.

"Now you can tell everyone I made you see fireworks," Jared says.

"Hmm," Jensen hums, smiling up at Jared. "You're pretty amazing, Jared Padalecki."

"Right back at you, Jensen Ackles," Jared replies, kissing his brow.

+

Jensen walks out of his last exam with a grin. The smile and satisfied nod Professor Gamble had given him after Jensen had cast the last spell made Jensen add an extra spring to his steps, sure he had aced this final.

He has an hour to kill before Jared is done with his last exam of the year, and Jensen decides to drop by the coffeehouse and see if Danneel is in. She's been done since yesterday, and sure enough he finds Danneel behind the counter, red ponytail whipping up and down as she rushes back and forth to hand out orders to a large group of students.

"Jensen!" she exclaims when she sees him, smiling widely. "I'll be right with you."

Jensen nods and sits down at the counter, waiting for Danneel to be done.

"How did it go?" Danneel asks when she makes it to where he's sitting. She leans over the counter and presses a kiss to Jensen's cheek.

"Really well," Jensen replies proudly. "You're in a good mood."

"Exams are over; it's Midwinter soon. Of course I'm in a good mood," she says, and her grin widens. "And I have a date tonight, after the Midwinter ceremony."

"Really?" Jensen asks. "I didn't know you met someone. That's great."

Danneel blushes a little, ducks her head. "Yeah. She, uh, she came here a lot over the past few weeks to study and we got talking."

"She?" Jensen smiles. 

Danneel nods. "Yeah. Actually," she says. "It's Jared's friend, Katie. I met her that one time we were playing frisbee, remember?"

"Katie? No way! That's awesome, Danni," Jensen says. "Katie's great."

"Yeah, I think so too," Danneel says, grinning. She taps her finger against the counter. "Let me make you a coffee. Your usual?"

"Please," Jensen says. "And a cookie."

"Coming right up," Danneel says. Jensen watches her fix his drink and put one of the chocolate cookies onto a small plate, putting both down in front of him.

"So, you kinda know Katie, too, right?" Danneel asks.

Jensen nods.

"Think you can help me pick something to wear? I mean, what kinda girls does she like, do you know?" Danneel asks, tugging a strand of hair that has fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"Apparently red-heads," Jensen teases.

"Shut up," Danneel replies, swatting him. "I mean, do you think she'd prefer me in jeans and a tee, or something more girly? And make-up – subtle or heavy?"

Jensen scrunches up his face. "I don't know," he says. 

"What do you know about the other girls she's dated? What were they like?" Danneel presses.

"They—had boobs?" Jensen says tentatively.

"Ugh. You're no help," Danneel says.

"Sorry. I'm new to this whole dating thing," Jensen defends himself. "You can ask Jared. He knows Katie way better than I do."

"Fine, I'll ask him," Danneel says and sighs. She doesn't really sound enthusiastic about asking Jared for advice, but when Jared comes into the coffeehouse almost an hour later she's on him before he even has a chance to sit down.

" _You're_ the girl Katie's going out with tonight?" Jared asks. He turns his head and bends down to kiss Jensen. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Hey," Jensen replies and flushes a little. 

"I am. So, skirt? Jeans? Dress? Hair down or in a ponytail? Make-up?" Danneel rattles off. 

"I don't think she's gonna care. She was talking about you non-stop yesterday when we were supposed to be studying," Jared says. "If I failed this exam, it'll be her fault."

"You think you failed?" Jensen asks, worried.

Jared grins and kisses Jensen's temple. "No way, I totally rocked that thing. But Katie doesn't need to know that – she's really easy to guilt trip."

Danneel clears her throat. "Hi, Katie's potential future girlfriend here. You really think I'm not gonna tell her?"

"Hi, Katie's best friend. You're gonna want me to be on your side."

Danneel snorts. "And you on mine. I'm probably gonna be the person Jensen turns to if you ever fuck up, and I'm really good at talking people out of stuff."

"Can we not put my relationship at stake? Please?" Jensen chimes in.

Danneel waves off. "Oh, as if you two are ever gonna break up," she says. "Katie told me your friends are already betting on when Jared will ask you to do the bonding spell. Most of them have their money on before you're done with college."

"Bonding spell?" Jensen asks.

"It's like marriage for witches and wizards," Jared says. "Only without the divorce."

"Really? What happens if you stop loving each other?" Jensen asks. "You can't break up?"

"There are spells, but it's a bit more complicated than just saying you're over and parting ways," Jared explains. "It's pretty solid."

"And it's common? Couples doing this spell?" Jensen asks.

"Probably not as common as marriage is for non-witches and non-wizards," Danneel muses, looking at Jared who nods. "You really gotta be sure. But I know a lot of people who did the spell."

"My parents and my grandparents all did it," Jared says with a shrug. 

Jensen bites down on his lower lip and grins. "And people think we're gonna do that spell?"

"What? The idea doesn't sound completely crazy, does it?" Jared asks, and takes Jensen's chin between his thumb and forefinger, kissing him softly.

"No," Jensen agrees softly. "It doesn't sound crazy."

"Well, and _I_ could one day have that with Katie," Danneel says with a huff. "So could you please tell me what to wear?"

"Keep your hair down, she'll like that. And don't go crazy on the make-up," Jared advises. "Also I hope you like horror movies."

"She's gonna take me to see a horror movie?" Danneel asks. "God, that woman is perfect."

"Witches," Jared mutters, and Jensen laughs when Danneel hits him with a towel.

+

"I look stupid," Jensen mutters, looking at himself in the full length mirror in the door of the closet. He's wearing a long, black robe with deep purple seams. Jensen is tall, but he still feels like the robe is swallowing him.

"Why couldn't they come up with something that's not horribly unflattering?" he complains, loudly.

Jared snorts and comes out of the bathroom, and Jensen thinks the world is unfair, because he looks good in his robe. Jensen wouldn't want him to trade his normal clothes in for it, but Jared definitely looks presentable. Impressive. It reminds Jensen of how he used to picture wizards to look like when he was a kid.

"You look fine," Jared says, eyeing Jensen up and down. "More than fine."

"I do not," Jensen huffs, but he feels a bit better about the outfit with Jared looking at him like that. 

Jared catches him around the waist and kisses him. "Very handsome," he says between kisses.

"I look ridiculous. Like Misha," Jensen says. "Why do they have to make us wear these?"

"It's a tradition," Jared replies with a shrug. "Witches and wizards wear robes for ceremonies and any official gatherings – it's just something we do, I guess."

"It's a _Midwinter_ celebration," Jensen huffs. 

"It's a ceremony," Jared corrects. "And they're cool. My brother told me so many things about them in the last few years. Remember those birds we saw at the peddler's market? That chirped whole symphonies and stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Last year a whole bunch of them did Christmas carols," Jared says. 

"That'd be pretty neat," Jensen admits.

"It will be. And the professors always make it snow all over campus, and my brother said the speeches are actually pretty good too," Jared says. "Come on. We'll enjoy ourselves."

Jensen smiles at Jared and nods. "Fine. But I want you to know I'm only looking like a fool under protest."

"Noted."

"Good," Jensen says. "Let's go then before I change my mind and stay here."

Jared laughs, and takes his hand. 

Outside, it's snowing even though it's way too warm for that, and students stop here and there to make snowballs or throw snow into the air, all of them dressed in robes and on their way to the assembly hall. Jared grins and tips his head back, catching snow on his tongue and Jensen watches tiny white flakes settle on his tongue and melt. 

"I've never seen snow," he admits. "I mean, apart from on television and stuff."

"No?" Jared asks. "We always have snow in our backyard for Midwinter. And well, I've traveled to a few places where it actually snows for real, without magic necessary."

"I haven't," Jensen says. "I'd never even left Texas before coming here."

"I'll take you somewhere. Spring break, maybe," Jared suggests.

The closer they get to the assembly hall, the bigger the crowd of students gets. Everyone is chattering happily, some students are looked around at the snow, awed, and Jensen has to admit it's pretty cool, all of them dressed alike. 

In the assembly hall, they go to find their friends. Danneel and Katie are sitting next to each other, talking softly, and they say hello quickly, but it seems they can barely keep their eyes off each other. Jensen grins.

Jared holds his hand throughout the whole ceremony, and Jensen feels warm and happy. The carols are incredible, and the professors that do speeches keep it light and funny. Hot chocolate and cookies are being passed around, and overhead there are a million tiny lights and flakes of snow swirling through the air.

Jensen looks around, at the happy faces of students and professors, at his friends, at Jared, and thinks he got damn lucky. 

"Wanna go out with us for drinks?" Genevieve asks when the ceremony is over and they leave the hall. Outside, the snow is a thick, heavy layer by now.

"We have plans," Jared says.

"Not you too," Misha says. "Katie's already ditching us."

"Sorry," Jared replies and shrugs. "Jensen's leaving for home tomorrow, so tonight I'm all his. But we can hang out another time."

"Fine," Misha sighs. "Go have goodbye sex with your boyfriend."

Jensen makes an indignant noise, but Jared just laugh and drags him in the other direction of where their friends are heading.

Back in the dorm, Jensen reaches for the buttons of his robe, but Jared catches his hands in his.

"Leave it on," he says, voice deeper than usual.

Jensen raises his eyebrows, eyes widening. "You wanna have sex in the robes?"

"Hell yeah," Jared replies. "Told you you looked good in it."

"Jesus, Jared," Jensen mutters, but he lets himself be pulled into a kiss.

+

Jensen didn't think a day would ever come when he didn't feel at home in his parents' house – in his hometown, with his family, in the neighborhood where he lived all his life. No matter how out of place he'd felt there, it was still home.

Coming back from California, everything suddenly feels different. 

The first night they all sit down for dinner together, Josh and Mackenzie talk about their classes and friends, but whenever Jensen starts talking, his parents look uncomfortable. They make displeased faces when Jensen mentions the names of his classes, and his father clears his throat unhappily when Jensen says he had practical exams.

"Practical? Like, casting spells and stuff?" Mackenzie asks, voice hushed and a bit awed.

"Mackenzie," Jensen's mom reprimands. 

"I was just asking," Mackenzie replies. 

"Well, let's talk about something else, shall we? Josh, are you still going out with that girl you met a few weeks ago?"

"Luisa, yeah," Josh replies, and Jensen looks down at his food and tunes everyone out. His parents don't want to hear about anything related to magic, and Jensen doesn't know how to talk about his life without mentioning it. His classes are about witchcraft, his friends are wizards and witches, the things he does in his free time are never completely normal. 

He can't even talk about Jared, at least not in the way he wants to, because Jensen's parents don't even know he's gay and Jensen isn't about to tell them. They can ignore him being a wizard, but Jensen doubts they'd be able to accept that Jensen is dating a guy.

After dinner, he helps clear the table, ready to get out and just hide in his room. He's putting dishes into the washer when his mother curses softly and something shatters behind him.

Jensen whirs around and finds his mom with arms stacked with dishes, a platter in shards on the ground.

"Let me help you," Jensen quickly says, talking the dishes from his mother.

"Thanks, Jensen," she says with a small smile. She kneels down and starts picking up the pieces. "It's a shame. This was your grandma's, you know? She gave it to me when I married your dad."

"I can fix it," Jensen offers. "I, uh, I know a spell."

His mom's face falls a little and she shakes her head. "It's fine. It doesn't matter."

"But –" Jensen starts.

"Really, Jensen," his mother insists. "Listen, why don't you go join your siblings in the den? You don't need to be the only one helping me clean up."

"Okay," Jensen says softly. He goes to find Josh and Mackenzie and sits down to play video games with them for a while. 

He's in a heated battle with Mackenzie when his father knocks on the open door.

"Jensen. Can I talk to you for a second?" he asks.

Jensen looks at the game and sighs, handing his controller to Josh.

"What's up, dad?" Jensen asks once they're out in the hall, his dad softly closing the door behind them.

"Look, Jensen, your mom and I were talking and we wanted to ask you to not use any spells or anything while you're in our house," his dad says. "You understand that, right?"

"Right," Jensen says slowly. "Magic free zone."

His dad gives him a sad smile. "It's nothing personal. You know we love you," he says. "It's just – magic isn't normal, Jensen. It can be dangerous, and we don't want any of that here. And please don't indulge your sister's curiosity."

"Okay," Jensen agrees weakly. He curls his hands into fists and doesn't meet his father's eyes. 

It's not until he's in his bedroom, door firmly shut, that he dares to breathe; a choked sob escaping his throat and Jensen is surprised by it. He's been holding it together, but he suddenly feels too frustrated to hold it all in, too angry at his parents for not even trying to understand him, and at himself for knowing there's nothing he can do about the whole thing.

He wipes at his eyes, and goes to sit on his bed, picking his cell phone up from the nightstand. He looks down at it, hesitating, before dialing Jared's number. Lying down on his back, blinking up at the ceiling, he waits for Jared to pick up.

"Hey, gorgeous," Jared says in greeting. There's soft laughter and chatter in the background, and then it gets quieter, a door shutting.

"Hey Jared," Jensen says. "How's home?"

"Same old," Jared says casually. "I miss you already."

"Me too," Jensen says, sighing.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just – home," Jensen starts. "Nothing here is like at college. I can't talk about magic without my parents freaking out and I'm not even allowed to use any spells while I'm here."

He feels the hot sting of tears in his eyes, and he presses them close, trying to breathe steadily.

"Jensen," Jared murmurs.

"I just wanna come home," Jensen whispers. 

"You wanna come here maybe? You can, Jensen. Any time. My family would be delighted to have you over for the holidays."

Jensen turns onto his side and snorts. "Well, at least someone would be then," he says. "I hate this. I hate that my own parents feel uncomfortable around me."

"I wish I could do something. Make you be here with me with a snap of my fingers," Jared says. "Or, you know, a spell."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees. "I wish I was with you right now. But I can't leave here – I want to, but they're still my family. If I just walk out now...I can't just give up on them."

"I know," Jared says. "But you could leave early. Stay through Christmas with your parents and then come here."

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good," Jensen says. He curls up into a ball, letting his eyes slide closed. "Tell me something to take my mind off the whole thing. Something happy."

He listens to the rustling of fabric on the other end of the line, imagines Jared lying down on his bed. Long limbs sprawled out on soft sheets, his hair lying messily on the pillow. So tall, and gorgeous, and _Jensen's_. It makes him feel better instantly.

He closes his eyes and listens to Jared tell him about his dad trying a new spell for the roast they were having that almost set the kitchen on fire, letting his voice wash over him.

+

Jared is waiting for him at the airport, and Jensen all but throws himself at him. He doesn't care that they're in public or that he's acting as if he hasn't seen Jared in years. Jared's arms come around him, hold him tight, and he feels the brush of lips against the shell of his ear.

"Jensen," Jared murmurs. "Hey."

"Hey," Jensen replies, and he pulls back far enough to catch Jared's lips with his. 

Jared is grinning when they break apart, all dimples and white teeth. "Let's get out of here," he suggests.

Jensen nods eagerly. They go to collect Jensen's bag and Jared holds his hand as he leads him out of the airport, to a car.

"No brooms?" Jensen asks, fake surprise in his voice.

"Nah, didn't want to scare the normals," Jared says with a wink, and opens the trunk of the car to drop Jensen's luggage in.

Jensen snorts. "I've had a enough of people like that for a while," he says.

"That bad?" Jared asks.

"I spent most of the time in my room, playing minesweeper on my laptop," Jensen says as he gets into the passenger side of the car. "On a good note, I set a new record."

Jared closes the door at his side with a slam and leans over, pressing their lips together. "Well, you're back now. And I'll make sure the rest of your break will be amazing."

"Please," Jensen says with a sigh. "And magic. I want lots of magic, because I've been going without any since I left here and I never thought I could miss spells that much, but I do. It's like missing a limb."

Jared laughs softly. "I bet," he says, kissing Jensen quickly again. "Let's get you home to my parents' place and then you can relax."

"Sounds good," Jensen agrees. He leans in closer, feels the arm brush of Jared's arm against his, and smiled. 

"My parents are really excited to meet you," Jared says, casually, and smiles. 

"Yeah? They don't mind, right, that I'm still new to the magic stuff? And that I'm only, like, 1/4th wizard."

"Of course not," Jared says, shaking his head. "My mom saw a photo of you. She thinks you're cute. And Jeff Morgan was over for my parents' big Midwinter party and told my dad that it's impressive how much you changed over the semester and Professor Gamble is apparently convinced you have crazy potential and stuff."

"Dean Morgan was talking about me?" Jensen asks, surprised. 

"I told you he's close to my family. He thinks it's great that we're dating," Jared says with a shrug. "He apparently told my dad that he doesn't have to worry about me getting into trouble with you keeping me in check."

"I didn't know I was keeping you in check."

Jared grins. "You're not, because I'm a perfectly responsible wizard all on my own. Really, you accidentally blow up a shack _once_ and people forever think you're a troublemaker."

"You blew up a shack?"

"I was twelve and it was an accident. I actually had no idea what the spell meant," Jared defends himself. "Nobody got hurt or anything."

"Well, I guess that makes it okay," Jensen says sarcastically. 

"Shut it," Jared admonishes, and they share a grin before Jared focuses on the street again.

"So you really think your family will like me?"

"Definitely. You'll meet everyone tonight. They're at my aunt's right now, for a post-Midwinter celebration," Jared says. "Means you and I can have some alone time."

He turns his head and winks at Jensen, and Jensen flushes and swats him, but doesn't shoot him down completely.

+

Jared's parents' house is huge and old, beautiful, and Jensen thinks he's never seen a house like this. It reminds him of old movies, with those huge stone houses where mysterious rich old men lived or that were haunted by ghosts.

Jared leads up a set of stairs and down a hallway and then takes a sharp left, into yet another hallway. It's way bigger than Jensen's parents' house, but Jensen assumes that if you come from a prominent family in the community of witches and wizards, you probably have quite a bit of money. It's intimidating, thinking about how Jared comes from a family of really amazing witches and wizards and Jensen is so _average_ , so normal compared to them.

"This is my room," Jared declares after opening a door, putting Jensen's suitcase down for him. 

"Am I sleeping here?" Jensen asks in surprise.

Jared wrinkles his forehead up, looking confused and adorable. It makes heat curl up in Jensen's stomach.

"Of course," Jared says. "Unless you _want_ to sleep in a guest room."

"No," Jensen says quickly. "It's just. Are you parents okay with us sharing a room?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Cause we're dating? My parents would never allow a girlfriend or boyfriend to sleep in our rooms – not until we're married anyway."

"Huh, yeah, no. My family isn't like that," Jared says with a shrug. "I mean, that would be kinda pointless anyway, considering we live together in a dorm."

Jensen chuckles. "Yeah, my parents would have a few choice words to say about that as well if they knew."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that here," Jared assures him and tugs him close. He kisses Jensen softly, tipping Jensen's face up with one finger under his chin, and murmurs, "I'm so happy you're finally here."

"Me too," Jensen agrees.

"So, what do you wanna do first?" Jared asks. "You hungry? Or tired from the flight? Or wanna have crazy hot reunion sex?"

Jensen laughs softly. "I think I really need a shower," he says. "And maybe some food."

"Are you subtly turning down sex with me?"

"No. Just – later?" Jensen replies apologetically. 

"Whatever you want," Jared says. "How about you go take a shower and I fix us something to eat?"

"That sounds really, really good," Jensen agrees, and gives Jared another quick kiss before he lets him show him where the bathroom is.

The shower is like the one in their dorm, with water coming down out of nowhere, only bigger and better. The temperature and water pressure are perfect, and Jensen just stands under the spray for a couple of minutes, letting the water rain down on him. He uses Jared's shampoo and body wash, and the smell is so _Jared_ that it makes Jensen's stomach swoop.

When he comes out of the bathroom wearing the pair of sweats and thin hoodie he had found laid out on the counter, Jared is sitting on his bed, back against the headboard.

"Took you long enough," he grumbles, but Jensen can tell he's not actually upset, the corners of his mouth tugging up in a hint of a smile.

"Sorry. Your shower is amazing."

"It is," Jared agrees. "Did you jerk off in there?"

"Jared!" Jensen says indignantly. "No."

"Hmm, part of me is disappointed because I would have really, really enjoyed the mental image of you coming all over the wall of my shower," Jared muses, "but I think another part of me would have been upset if you'd gotten off without me when I'm right here, willing to do whatever you want."

"You're impossible," Jensen mutters, but he crawls up onto the bed with Jared and snuggles close. "I don't even know why I'm dating you."

"Hey!" Jared cries out, curling his arms around Jensen. "Most people would consider it a good thing that my boyfriend turns me on."

"Nympho," Jensen mutters.

Jared chuckles. "Hey, you know, I have a friend who's ex-girlfriend put a spell on him that made him horny all the time. I think it almost turned him off sex forever."

"Your point?"

"Being a nympho is no fun," Jared says seriously. "I just have a healthy appreciation for sex with you."

"Whatever, idiot," Jensen says. "And hey, where's my food?"

"Right here," Jared says, and picks up a plate from the nightstand. Jensen sits up straight and takes one of the sandwiches, groaning in appreciating when he bites into it.

"I have something else for you," Jared says, and he picks up a huge leather bound book.

"Is that – ?" Jensen asks through the food in his mouth, wiping crumbs from his lips.

"Yup, like the book in the library you like so much," Jared says. "I told you my parents have a few of those in their library. Wanna read it?"

"Yes," Jensen says, nodding eagerly.

"Okay. You eat, I read." There's amusement coloring Jared's voice, and he sits back and holds his arm out. "Come here."

Jensen settles against him and watches Jared open the book with a smile on his face. On the first page _The Three Witches_ appears in beautiful, cursive letters. Jared kisses the top of Jensen's head before turning the page.

+

Jensen wakes up with his head resting on Jared's shoulder, fingers carefully combing through his short hair. He snuffles, presses closer against Jared and breathes him in.

"You awake?" Jared asks softly.

Jensen nods his head sleepily. "This is really nice," he mumbles.

"It is," Jared agrees. "Have I told you I missed you?"

"Once or twice since you met me at the airport."

"Well I really, really missed you," Jared stresses, shifting. He nudges Jensen with his nose until Jensen laughs softly and tilts his head up so Jared can kiss him.

"Mmm," he hums. "I could stay here with you for the rest of the day."

"Can't do, I'm afraid," Jared says. "Dinner will be ready soon. My mom was just here, like, five minutes ago."

Jensen's eyes widen and he sits up. "Your mom was in here? And she saw me?" he asks. "Jared! You should have woken me up so I could have at least properly introduced myself."

"Relax," Jared says. "My mom would have killed me if I'd woken you up just for her. She _cooed_ when she saw you and was all 'poor boy must have been exhausted'."

Jensen blushes. "Oh god."

"Hey, it's a good thing. She's already totally enamored with you," Jared assures him. He pats the mattress next him. "Now come back here, so we can cuddle until dinner is ready."

Jensen lies back down somewhat reluctantly. "I just want them to like me," he admits.

Jared nudges his leg between Jensen's and rubs their clothed feet together. "They will."

"It would suck if they thought I wasn't good enough for you or something."

"Jensen. Why the hell would anyone think that?" Jared asks.

"Cause I can't do the things you can," Jensen says. 

"Like that's what matters?" Jared asks. "Even if you weren't a wizard at all, it wouldn't matter. You make me _happy_ , that's all my family is going to care about. That's all I care about, too. And it's ridiculous that you'd even think you're not good enough for me, because you're amazing. I love you so much – every single thing about you. You're so ambitious and smart, and you always wanna learn new things, and you're so fascinated by the world around you. God, you came here even though you didn't know the first thing about magic and your family didn't even want you to come, but you followed your dreams and worked so hard, and now you're doing so well. Do you even know how impressive that is?"

"Jared," Jensen says, voice choked up. He rests his hand against Jared's chest, feels his heart beating strong and steady under his palm.

"If anything, I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. Hell, if you ask me, there isn't a single person on this planet who could possibly be good enough for you."

Jensen lifts his head, meets Jared's eyes, and he looks so genuine it makes Jensen's heart clench. "Jared," he murmurs again. "Don't say that. I never, ever would have made it this far if it wasn't for you."

"I just helped a little. You're the one who didn't give up," Jared replies.

Jensen breathes in slowly. "You said you loved me," he says softly.

Jared huffs out a laugh. "Of course I love you," he says, and he kisses Jensen chastely. "Like crazy."

"Me too," Jensen replies with a smile. "I love you too."

"Well, good," Jared says. "You know what this calls for?"

"A kiss?"

Jared grins. "That too. But mostly this," he says. " _Bellis perennis_."

Like the first time, when Jared stood with him in the middle of their dorm room, Jared is looking at him with a bit, happy grin while daisies start falling down on them. First a few, then more, and Jensen laughs, like he did the first time. 

"You're such a dork," he says, amused.

"Hmm, but you like that about me," Jared reminds him, and pulls him into a kiss. Jensen cups his face, kisses him back with all he has, and doesn't even care that they're getting buried under pink and white daisies.

+

When Jensen started his first semester at the _California College of Magic_ , he'd thought he'd finally found where he belongs, but it had been more desperate hope than anything else.

Starting his second semester, Jensen walks across campus with Jared by his side, their hands intertwined, Jensen _knows_ he really did find where he belongs. Only, it isn't a place – it's Jared.


End file.
